


A Daring Mother's Day

by JuliaFC



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrinette | Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Happy Ending, Identity Reveal, Marichat | Adrien Agreste as Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Romance, Surprise Kissing, Truth or Dare
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:28:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 42,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24762355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JuliaFC/pseuds/JuliaFC
Summary: Mother's Day hits Adrien hard. But when Marinette goes beyond her way to brighten his mood, his impulsive reaction causes an unexpected escalation of events. Will Chat Noir survive a session of truth or dare with Marinette and Aya? Without having a heart attack or putting his identity in danger? Of course not ;) Adrienette ∓ Marichat, angst, fluff and a sweet reveal!
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 103
Kudos: 237
Collections: Miraculous Ladybug and Cat/Chat Noir Reveal





	1. Chapter 1

**Cover art by: Rose Manley**

**Beta-read by: Agrestebug and Speckleflower. Thank you SO much! You're the best! :)**

**Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by** _**(c)** _ **Thomas Astruc** _**, TS1** _ **Bouygues, Disney Channel, Zagtoon, Toei Animation. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.**

**oOo**

Paris was cold tonight. Chat Noir shivered against the gush of cold spring wind slapping against him as he landed between two gargoyle statues atop Notre Dame. He sat, legs crossed, watching the thin scythe of the crescent moon fight its way across the cloudy overcast sky. Soon it would be dark, the last shades of crimson and gold light from the setting sun sending strokes of light up towards the darkness. He sat there for a while, observing the city lights slowly twinkling back into existence, and allowing himself to breathe regularly and relax. He let out a shaky breath, trying to hold back the tears.

Today had been tough. Being a Sunday hadn't brought its usual amount of delight. He typically looked forward to the prospect of having no lessons planned for the day, or homework to do. He could have dedicated his whole day to be with her. But not this time.

Last year had already been bad. No, who was he kidding… it had been _terrible_. For the first time since she disappeared, it really hit home. He had missed her more than anything else in the world, but last year, the agony and desolation had hit him by surprise. The wound of her disappearance always hovered, and that pain simply reopened it anew, drawing fresh blood out of it like a vampire.

Last year he had locked himself in his room, told Nathalie that he was feeling sick and spent the whole day and night on his bed, positively bawling. After all, he had nothing better to do and nobody to call or to ask for help. It had crossed his mind to call Chloe… but he had quickly scratched that thought from his mind. His emotions were too fragile to endure her constant attention-seeking whine. Not that day. So, he had been by himself, and the day had just come and gone. The wound had slowly healed itself in vain, knowing it would never be able to heal completely.

This year was different though… first, he now knew that he would be an emotional wreck today and had spent the better part of February and the beginning of March dreading it with all his might. Second, he now had friends who actually cared for him and who wouldn't have abused his patience to complain about their latest badly performed haircuts but would have been there to support him and cheer him up.

If only his father would allow them to visit.

He remembered well what had happened the day of the anniversary of his mother's disappearance. Father hadn't allowed him to see his friends, and his frigging _cousin_ had nearly managed to make him lose them all by impersonating him and insulting them. And even worse, he had deleted the video they had sent to cheer him up. He didn't expect a visit from his cousin this time (although he hadn't expected it even that time, so he was taking no risks!) but he had decided he didn't want to tell his friends about today. He just didn't want to burden them with it.

Not that it hadn't been difficult. Even Kim of all people had asked him what was wrong with him. Ladybug had looked very worried for him the day before on patrol. She hadn't said anything directly, but she had implied… that he looked quite off. He hadn't been able to joke or throw around his usual puns. He had tried to fit in a couple of them, but he too had cringed at how stupid and utterly unfitting they were. He wasn't good at hiding his emotional status, especially not from his Lady.

She wasn't talking to him about his sudden change in demeanour, but he swore he heard her whispering before bugging off, "Hope he won't get himself akumatised!" That had hurt him even more – was that all his lady was worried about? That he wouldn't get akumatised? He'd felt the urge to scream in the middle of Paris, to call out to Hawkmoth there and then to goad a butterfly into hitting him. But his anger didn't last long and was replaced with a desperate sense of agony.

Luckily, this year being Chat Noir helped him survive the day. He had told Nathalie early in the morning that he didn't want to be disturbed and had locked himself in his room, trying to replicate what had happened the year before. He had seen the deep look of chagrin in Nathalie's eyes and knew that she wouldn't try to disturb him, not today. His father wasn't even currently in the country, having left a couple of days ago for some meeting in Japan, so relying on him for any kind of support was out of the question. He had never thought that his father would have cared about today anyway. It was something private, something that was just between him and his mother.

The English Mother's Day.

It had been their little secret, their little rendez-vous. Nobody cared in France about today because Mother's Day was celebrated in May. Even Father, when he still cared, had always asked Nathalie to help him create a hand-made gift for his mother on the fourth Sunday in May. Her eyes would light up as he gave her the gift, and then they would all go out for a special dinner at a classy restaurant. But not today… today meant nothing to Father, it wasn't in his tradition. But it was in Mother's.

For her, _today_ was Mother's Day. She had been used to celebrating it on this day and had herself made all her hand-made gifts for her own mother on this day. She didn't mind celebrating it during the other time, but she had made this day special for her son. She used to drop everything that she was doing – really everything; photoshoots, films, theatre… you name it. She dropped everything on the spot. Once she flew back from New York right in the middle of filming one of her best films, just to be there with him that day.

They would spend the whole day together, taking a walk around the city as they made their way to his favourite park. That day they wouldn't be Emilie and Adrien Agreste, they would be just a mother and a son spending some time together and having fun. She would stay in his room with him, cheering him on as he played his favourite videogame of the moment and watch sappy Disney films with him. He used to count the days, the hours, the minutes and know by heart when the next English Mother's Day was going to be, every year for the next 10 years. He had certainly counted the days last year, a small part of his brain kept hoping that like every year, Mother would magically reappear and spend the day with him. His disappointment in not seeing her coming back had been one of the most painful notes of that day. And now this knowledge was like a knife butchering his insides.

He had spent the whole day transforming on and off, trying to return to his room a few times to avoid Nathalie or the Gorilla finding out that he had escaped. Plagg for once hadn't been too much of a drama king, and his support had really helped him not fall into the black hole of depression. Good ole Plagg… Adrien knew deep down that the wee God had a soft spot, and given Plagg's solemn expression first thing this morning, probably felt truly sorry for him. He knew there was no way Plagg had missed the puffy black marks under his eyes or the impossibly endless tears that fell from them.

"Kid, you're a mess. Transform already and get yourself out of this misery, please!" he had encouraged him.

Adrien had immediately obliged. Anything to feel the rush of power and wildness of the black cat filling his lungs, his heart and his mind. Anything to get out of that prison. Anything to jump around the city in apparent freedom. Apparent, yes… because he was jumping around carrying his own burden with him.

He didn't know how many times he had landed in his favourite park, only to feel his eyes filling with tears and dashing away before the few kids in the playground managed to reach him ("Look maman, that's Chat Noir!") and witness his emotional breakdown. He had a reputation to uphold after all. He had run around the roofs of Paris and visited all the places he used to go with his mother, at least three dozen times each. Then, the last time he had returned home to have dinner, Nathalie had approached him as he stood from the table to return to his room.

"I know you don't want to be disturbed, Adrien, and I respect that. I know it must be difficult for you today." He had glared at her, but she had continued, with her usual monotone voice and put a small package in his right hand, "One of your friends asked for you around an hour ago. She left this."

The angry reply he had wanted to snap at her died in his throat. He quickly looked down in confusion, as his other hand nervously reached his nape. "Uh. Thank you, I suppose. Good night." He had stared at the small package in his hands and walked slowly back to his room, not failing to notice Nathalie's slight amusement as he left her. He had sat on his bed and looked at the package again for a while.

"Are you going to stare at this box for the rest of the night or are you going to see what's in it?" Plagg had said. He had kept staring at it without acknowledging the kwami. "Hello?! Earth to Adrien? Anybody at home?" That had earned Plagg a glare, but the fire in his green eyes didn't last long.

"I'm just baffled. It's not my birthday and I haven't said anything to anyone about today. Who on Earth…"

"There's only one way to find out, kid. OPEN IT!" Adrien had ignored the kwami once more and had kept staring at the package. The blue wrapping paper looked vaguely familiar, and so was the way it was wrapped with a lovely little pink bow.

_Who…_

He took a couple of breaths and moved his hand to the bow, loosening it. He removed the wrapping paper and opened the small box inside. His heart skipped a beat as he recognised without a doubt who had come to his house today, without even needing to read the few words on the little note. Unsigned – typical. By now he was used to finding important presents and cards unsigned. But this time he _definitely_ knew. In the box were 5 macarons, passion fruit by the look of it, carefully placed in the shape of a flower. The note said "Bonne fête maman. Courage!"

Adrien burst into tears. He couldn't stop the tears and didn't want to stop the tears. _Marinette_. How did _she_ know? How could she have found out? And why did she even care… when nobody else did?

_Of course, I know why she cares. She's my friend… one of my best friends. Yet… how did it even cross her mind to look up the English Mother's Day? I have been so careful to not mention anything about it at all! And how did she know my mother's nationality?_

"So… are you going to give these macarons a nice bath with your tears or are you going to actually eat them before they become salty? Pigtails wouldn't appreciate her gift to go to waste!" The kwami was floating mid-air, upside down, frowning at him. He looked… concerned?

"Shut up Plagg!" he managed to hiss. But Plagg did have a point. His tears were falling directly on the macarons, and _that_ was a sin. He wiped the tears from his eyes and cheeks and dried his wet hand on his jeans before picking one up and put it in his mouth, a soft smile crossing his lips as his mouth filled with the sweet taste he so loved.

"Tell me to shut up as much as you want, but at least you're smiling now. Pigtails is a _miracle_ worker!" He vaguely noticed the emphasis on the word 'miracle', but he chose to not think about it. Yet. He would just have to question Plagg later. Now he was busy enjoying the sweetness of his favourite treat.

"She is…" He put another macaron in his mouth as his bloodshot eyes softened a little bit. He hadn't even told Kagami about Mother's Day. He had noticed the concern in her eyes as they waved goodbye after their fencing lesson on Friday, but _she_ hadn't looked it up and _she_ hadn't thought of trying to cheer him up. That's how special Marinette was. "She's a real friend."

Adrien didn't fail to notice – but decided to pointedly ignore – Plagg facepalming at the sentence; he just put another macaron in his mouth and closed his eyes, happily savouring the passion fruit taste. This was a piece of heaven. Not only Marinette was a great friend; she was an awesome cook. But he knew _that_ already.

He stood up as the last macaron entered his mouth, a resolute look into his bloodshot eyes. "I need to thank her. But in person! A simple text wouldn't be enough. Plagg, CLAWS OUT!" "Waaaaaaaitttttt you can't…." tried to object Plagg, but Adrien didn't even acknowledge the protest, as the usual surge of power coming from the miraculous gave him an adrenaline rush and enhanced his resolution. He transformed in a flash of green light, dashing to the top of his window seal and out in the dusk.

He wandered around for a little while and ended up sitting on the Cathedral's tower, trying desperately to gain some dignity before proceeding towards her balcony, which he could see from where he was sitting. As much as he wanted to say thanks, he didn't want to scare her. A quick glance at his face as he passed in front of Montparnasse Tower earlier on had left even him terrified. He had stopped at a small park before landing on the Cathedral and had dipped his face into a cold-water fountain. It wasn't going to reduce the red puffiness too much, but it was a start. Although his hair was now a wet mess too, and the random drops of freezing water falling on his shoulders were making him shiver. He watched the dusk turn to darkness and stood up firmly. It was now or never; he couldn't wait any longer or she may think he was stalking her in her sleep.

Sprinting across the rooftops and making a few more jumps, he finally landed on her balcony with a loud THUMP. She wasn't out, but being quite a chilly March evening he wasn't surprised, and he could see the light still on in her bedroom from the skylight door. He guessed she must have heard him and that she would soon check what the noise was.

He took a moment to gather his thoughts and decide what he was going to say. No, he hadn't thought about it at all in the rush of his decision. He was still too preoccupied about his own emotions and trying to look at least slightly dignified. But he was going to say thanks for the macarons and for her lovely thought that had managed to cheer him up and touch him deeply…

He was still in a crouched position, his eyes gazing vaguely at the floor of Marinette's balcony when it hit him.

He was an idiot.

_IDIOT IDIOT IDIOT IDIOT!_

He suddenly remembered Plagg's attempt to protest before he was sucked into the ring. IDIOT, HE WAS! He couldn't thank her for the lovely thought she had towards Adrien. He was CHAT NOIR! His face gained a sudden ashen complexion as he hoped that the ground at his feet would swallow him whole.

"Hey Kitty?" He thought he may just have had a heart attack. He heard the sound of the latch opening and heard her puzzled voice. "Are you going to look at me and tell me what you are doing on my balcony?"

Could she feel the thumping of his heart?

"Kitty? What happened? Chat got your tongue?"

Hold on. Was that a cat pun? He quickly parked that thought. He just could NOT look at her.

"Earth to Kitty? Anyone there?" He felt her hands touching his face and delicately moving it so that his gaze could meet hers. _Bugger_. He knew he didn't look pretty. The surprise in her bluebell eyes was as clear as spring water.

"Oh. My. God! What happened to you, Kitty? Don't stay here, please come in!" He was too terrified and emotionally wrecked to not instantly obey.

oOo

He followed inside, his boots awkwardly resting on the cover of Marinette's bed. He shook his cotton filled head, causing a little shower of freezing water to drip all over her blankets. "Uh." He wanted to say sorry, but the word didn't come out. Luckily, his boots weren't muddy. He was trying to say something else when his head was hit with the softness of a towel. It was red, fluffy and smelled of jasmine and wildflowers.

"There, dry your hair like a human being." He dutifully obliged, still wrapped in a daze of confusion and bewilderment, unable to utter a word. Which, being Chat Noir, was extremely out of character and he knew it, but he just couldn't find the words. When he took the towel off his head and caught sight of Marinette, she was holding an eye mask in her hands. Her frown and the way her eyebrows arched showed concern.

"Sorry for bothering you," he managed to say, cursing at how groggy his voice sounded. He sniffed. "I was in the neighbourhood and… happened… see your light." It wasn't the truth. But how could he tell her the truth? How could he tell her that he just wanted to give her a massive hug and melt in a puddle at her feet and thank her for her sweet thought? He should have de-transformed and entered the bakery as Adrien.

 _IDIOT IDIOT IDIOT_ … he could think now of at least a few other things he could have done to actually thank her instead than standing on her bed as the so-called flirty superhero of Paris with a puffy face and wet hair while looking positively miserable and scary. He got off her bed at the thought and stood right in front of her.

He expected her to tell him off and ask him to leave. He expected her to look at him with judgy eyes and tell him that she was disappointed. He expected her to scold him because he was a superhero and was risking getting himself akumatised, like his Lady had done the day before. What he _didn't_ expect was for Marinette to move forward, give him a hug and gently pat his damp hair. His eyes widened in shock before he allowed himself to close them and hug her back. "Thank you," he whispered in her ear, noticing with a small part of his brain that Marinette had shivered as a result.

"For what?" she whispered back. Her hands were patting his hair ever so gently. He deepened the hug, filling himself with the warmth and the tenderness and the comfort he so desperately craved.

 _For going way beyond what anybody else has ever done for me, for taking your time to find out what was bothering me and making me sad, for going out of your way to bake perfect macarons, place them carefully in the shape of a flower into a box, write a note, wrap the box like a gift and come to my house, face Nathalie… just to brighten my day._ That's what he wanted to say. But he couldn't, so he said, "For not judging me."

"There's nothing to judge," was her answer. "You're only human Chaton… even superheroes have the right to be in pain!"

He didn't break the hug for a long time, lulling himself in the warmth of the embrace, and she didn't show any desire for the hug to break either. Why was she so willing to help him? He'd only met her a handful of times as Chat Noir after all… and once he had even upset her dad and had caused him to get akumatised. He had also rejected her and made her cry. Yet, she was there for him when he needed her. Reluctantly he let go of the hug and immediately felt a dire need to fill the newly discovered void in his soul by hugging her again. He had to use violence on himself, to not do just that.

"Here, take it." She gave him the eye mask she held in her hands. "Sometimes I spend most of the night awake working on a project and in the morning I'm a right mess. I use this mask when I do, you know." She blushed as she touched the thin skin under her beautiful bluebell eyes. "To reduce the puffiness and the redness." She quickly added.

He couldn't imagine her beautiful face to be not even close to the scary mess he was in. He wasn't sure if it would work, being his superhero mask on the way, but he took it and put it on his face, under his eyes, on the top of his mask. It was cold and smelled of some kind of herb that he didn't recognise.

"You can lie down on the chaise downstairs if you want." Only when she said that did he notice the hint of embarrassment in her voice and he realised that he had somehow ended up sitting on her bed, with Marinette on his lap; their faces were so close that he could count the freckles on her nose. His eyes grew wide.

"Uh… yes. Right! Sorry!" He stood up quite blatantly and rigidly walked down the stairs, a deep blush brightening his cheeks under the eye mask. Marinette gave him a soft smile and followed him, sitting on the chaise next to him. They stared at each other in awkward silence for a while.

"You don't have to tell me what happened and why you're upset if you don't want to," she said. "But just remember that I'm your friend and will always be here for you if you need me."

His thoughts went to the day Ladybug had de-akumatised Weredad, when Marinette had told him that she wanted to stay friends. He hadn't taken on to it, not thinking for a minute that she would have really been interested in befriending him. Turns out she truly was… the feeling of gratefulness overwhelmed him, and he felt her yelping in surprise as he grabbed her and hugged her again. She had wasted a fine eye mask because as he felt her returning his hug and humming gently while patting his hair and his back, he started crying again.

They were still deeply wrapped into his desperate hug when he heard a click and a creaking sound coming from somewhere in front of them, followed by a whispered "Uuuuuuh!".

He and Marinette both opened their eyes wide in terror and turned their head at the source of the sound like little children caught with their hands in the chocolate sauce.

Alya. Alya – of ALL PEOPLE – was standing on the stairs leading to Marinette's room, one hand holding the trap door. She was looking at them in surprised shock, _and her phone_ Adrien registered as he panicked even more, pointing straight in their direction. They broke the hug.

"Aaaaaaaa…. Alya! I can explain!" "Don't get it wrong!" "It's not as it like uks… looks not like – I mean it's not what it looks like!" They both started blabbing nonsensical excuses. Adrien could see Alya's surprised gaze turning into amusement, then into hysterics.

He was so in trouble.

**Author's Note:**

**Hi there! This is my first Miraculous Ladybug story. It comes from my own life experience, as I'm Italian and have lived for many years in the UK and now live in the Republic of Ireland. For me, Mother's Day is today (10th of May this year). But in the UK and in Ireland it's in March and I have got used to a double celebration, as my kids gift me with handmade gifts and cards from school on that day and my husband buys cards on their behalf, but not today because he often forgets. I know that Emilie was half British (GRAHAM de Vanily) so I thought that her feelings would have been similar to mine. She would have had to celebrate in May, but she would have felt that the real Mother's Day was the English one.**

**This story has been published for the first time on my account at fanfiction.net on the 10th of May and has finished on the 13th of June. I will publish a chapter every week here, but if you're curious and want to read it all, you can check my profile at fanfiction.net.**

**Again, many many thanks to my friend and beta Agrestebug who spent a long time last night editing my story even after having had an accident recently, and to my friend and beta Speckleflower who still hasn't got a chance to properly read the definitive version, but has greatly helped to sort out some problems with the plot. I'm a lucky girl to have two betas like you!**

**Comments will be greatly appreciated.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A Daring Mother's Day - chapter 2**

**Written by: JuliaFC**

**Beta-read by: Agrestebug and Speckleflower. Thank you SO much! You're both the best! :)**

**Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Thomas Astruc _, TS1_ Bouygues, Disney Channel, Zagtoon, Toei Animation. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.**

**oOo**

"What is there to get wrong with this picture?" Alya turned her phone and showed them the shot she had taken a few seconds before, of them hugging. Adrien was horrified to see that his face was in full view, and how terrible he looked. He gulped nervously and brought a hand to his nape.

"If you just let me explain!" Marinette started.

"I'm all ears," Alya retorted, crossing her arms over her chest. Her right foot was tapping on Marinette's floor rhythmically. "And it better be a good excuse because this can be a scoop for my Ladyblog. I already imagine the hits I would get. 'Chat Noir cheats on Ladybug with my BFF!'" Her hands and arms rose, her thumb and index fingers highlighting an imaginary headline.

"That's not true!" "I'm not cheating on Ladybug!" they said almost at the same time.

"Aaaaah… I just need to write a couple of words and hit send… and the world will know. Unless your excuse is absolutely reasonable, of course! In which case I may, and I highlight MAY, Let you off easy." Aylas expression went from mockery to puzzlement when she finally had a good look at Chat Noir, her smile dropping as she asked, "by the way, kittycat, what happened to you? Were you hit by a train?"

Adrien opened his mouth to answer. And then closed it again. Open and close… he felt like a fish, for a good few seconds. He didn't know what to say. Every time he thought of something, he opened his mouth to speak, but then changed his mind thinking it was too lame. He didn't want to dig an even deeper hole for himself. Maybe it would be better to keep his mouth shut!

"Yes, there you go, that's it right there," Marinette said, as she evidently understood that he wasn't going to speak any time soon. "That's why I was hugging him. He landed on my balcony a few minutes ago, Alya. He was in a state. I did for him what I would have done for you, had I found you somewhere, crying and in pain."

Alya's eyes softened when she heard that, and she smiled at Marinette. However, her gaze was still hard when it moved to his face. He gulped. "So, I have _another_ question." Adrien knew he wasn't going to like this. Not in the slightest. "What was _he_ doing landing on your balcony at…" she glanced at her watch, "ten to eight at night?"

" _He_ said he was in the neighbourhood and saw my light."

"Of all lights! I'm sure that there are PLENTY of lights on in the neighbourhood. Why did _HE_ stop _HERE_?"

"Because…" Marinette hesitated for a second. "Because I was involved in two akumatisations in the past. Do you remember Evillustrator? Ladybug had sent him here to protect me. And he also saved me when my dad was akumatised. So, he knew my balcony!"

"It still doesn't explain why HE chose to stop here instead than feeling miserable at home or go to get a hug from Ladybug!"

" _HE_ has a name!" he joined in the conversation. Bugger it anyway, his voice was still all groggy and hoarse! He coughed to clear his throat. "I was around tonight and landed here by accident. Marinette saw my face and called me inside. Gave me a towel to dry my hair and a hug. Full stop. End of the story."

Alya started messing with her phone, then looked back at him, raising an eyebrow. "Carry on, dig a deeper hole. I'm typing."

"I don't know why I stopped here!" Adrien was getting more and more frustrated. If Alya kept it up he felt he was going to explode!

But Alya had no intention to let it go. She smirked saying it mockingly, "Shall I go get popcorn? This is getting fun!"

"AAAARGHHHH!" He couldn't take it any longer. "What are YOU doing here by the way? You're also here at eight o'clock at night!"

If looks could kill, he would have been a dead cat. Adrien felt that his hole had grown even bigger. "For your information… Marinette here called me this afternoon after delivering… _something_ … to _someone_ … none of your business." She politely coughed. Adrien's heart sank, as he knew exactly what she was talking about. "She asked me to come here tonight to have a girl sleepover and discuss… _things_ … about that someone. So, _I_ had a right to be here, kittycat. _You_ on the other hand… still have to explain yourself!"

Adrien's quick glance to Marinette's face confirmed that Alya was telling the truth. Marinette was smiling nervously and blushing but her body was rigid and stiff. "Can you keep your voice down guys? Maman and papa are not deaf, and they're just downstairs!" she said in a lower tone of voice. Oh yeah. The bakery closed at eight. Her parents were surely just downstairs.

As if she had called for it, a voice boomed from a floor down. "Are you all right up there, girls?" That was Mr Dupain, Adrien thought. His heart started racing in his chest and his expression and complexion must have matched that, because he was mortified to notice the amused look that Alya shot at him.

"Yes Mr Dupain, don't worry!" she said. "Marinette was showing me a funny video from YouTube, that's it!"

"Ah ok. I thought I heard the voice of a boy." Heart racing faster.

"Nah Mr Dupain. Marinette forgot to lower the volume of the video!"

"Good. We are down here if you need us!"

"Yes, papa, thank you!" said Marinette nervously. Adrien heard footsteps getting more and more distant and then going down a flight of stairs. He realised he had been holding his breath all that time and allowed himself to breathe again.

"You know, I should have taken a picture of you even a second ago, kittycat. You were _hilarious_." Alya earned herself a glare from both Chat Noir and Marinette.

"Well… since you seem to have… girl… _things_ … to do. I suppose I will leave you two to it." He turned around towards the ladder to Marinette's bed to get out of the skylight door, but only managed to take two steps. A sudden sensation came from his belt, holding him from going further. He turned to discover that Marinette had grabbed hold of his tail, the frown in her eyebrows showing a resolute determination.

"Aha… You're not going anywhere, Kitty. Not in this state," she said. To emphasise that, she pulled him closer and waved her index finger in front of his eyes, to show 'no'.

"Yes, take another step and I press the 'post' button, kittycat. You stay here with us tonight, or I swear that my post will blow your mind!" Alya said, waving her phone threateningly at him and grinning from ear to ear. She appeared more than amused at his horrified expression.

 _Great!_ He sat angrily, legs crossed, on the floor, a scowl on his face. He was trapped, and the girls knew it.

"All right…" Marinette sighed. Was she relieved that he wasn't going to fight her about his staying? "Since we're going to be here a while, I will go get some refreshments from the bakery's leftovers of the day."

His ears perked up. Suddenly being trapped there didn't seem like such an ordeal any longer. Adrien watched as Marinette opened the trap door and carefully walked down the ladder to the floor below in anticipation.

"You move a foot, kitty, and the post goes live," Alya warned. "I'm still not convinced with your story and I still want to know why your face is in such a state. And believe me…" She sat cross-legged next to him and gave him a friendly tap on the nose with her index finger. Adrien didn't like it. Only Ladybug was allowed to do that to him. He was still annoyed when she continued, "I'm really good at extrapolating the truth."

Yes, he knew that. Nino had been _very_ clear about that point. He just couldn't keep ANY secrets from his girlfriend, she would always catch him out and dig the truth out of him. He gulped again.

"There's nothing to extrapolate," he said. But he knew, 1000%, that Alya hadn't believed a word.

"Of course." Her eyes were tiny slits in her face. "Then you have nothing to worry about, don't you?" She smiled triumphantly when he gulped again. Damn Alya. He wasn't in the right frame of mind to deal with this today! And now he couldn't even escape! Dear Lord, why had he landed on that balcony as Chat Noir? His expression must have shown some of the things he was thinking, because Alya was watching him even more closely and amusedly. Poker face had never been his forte. He was doomed!

oOo

When Marinette returned, she had brought food for at least twenty people. Adrien's mouth watered at the sight of the quiches, vol au vent, croissants and macarons. There were even bignes and slices of a cake made with ricotta and pine seeds (as Marinette explained) that he had never seen before. Marinette had also brought up a couple of bottles of water and orange juice. Nathalie would never forgive him if he ate all that stuff at this time of the night. And of course, Adrien couldn't care less. He grabbed a slice of ricotta cake and gave it a quick bite.

 _Heaven on Earth!_ A happy moan escaped from his lips.

"Look at him Marinette!" Alya's voice sounded even more amused than before.

"Yea… what do they say? Feed a stray cat and he will keep coming back!" The two girls laughed, but he couldn't care less.

A further happy moan came out of his throat as he bit on the cake again. He could stay trapped here for the rest of his life; even having to face Alya's interrogation sounded a good idea just to have a taste of heaven.

"By the way, kittycat. I think you can peel that mask off your face." Alya earned two nasty glares. "Oh… I mean the eye mask, not his superhero mask!" She said that looking at Marinette, who smiled instantly. Adrien had forgotten about that mask. He peeled it off and put it on the floor, next to his empty plate.

"Looks a little bit better, kitty," said Marinette softly.

"Wow… he must have been really bad!" That was Alya.

"You have no idea Alya… he could have easily gotten akumatised. In fact, I'm shocked that Hawkmoth didn't take the chance! It's unheard of."

"Maybe… he was _busy_? Sick? Out of the country?" he attempted to say. But he did find that strange, indeed. He had been literally bawling all day and there had been no sign of an akuma. Not that he complained… but it was odd. Had Hawkmoth lost his touch?

"Yeah… it's been a couple of days since the last akuma attack. I suppose he too is a human being; he may be busy in his civilian life or sick!" Alya was thinking out loud. "But probably I would say you may be right, kitty. He's out of the country. He must be... because there's no way he would have missed an emotion like yours. I remember way too well that he akumatised me for much less."

"Mhhhmhhh" was the only thing he could say as he devoured the third croissant. This one had chocolate sauce in it. He closed his eyes to savour its sweet chocolatey taste.

"Well, I better eat something before Mr CAT-astrophe here empties the tray!" Alya picked up a croissant that had a drop of custard at the top and gave it a bite. Adrien raised an eyebrow, both at the cat pun and at the sin of seeing a fine croissant leave the tray into somebody else's hands. "You're so funny, you know that kittycat!" Alya laughed as she caught a glimpse of his frown, and finished to eat her croissant with a couple of extra bites.

"What are we going to do to spend the evening?" asked Marinette, but before Alya could say anything, Adrien saw Marinette's eyes dart quickly from her face to his and she added, "What about watching something light, like a Disney movie?"

Alya gave her a stare. Adrien had a feeling that Alya's plan didn't involve watching anything on TV. "Sounds like an excellent idea!" he said.

"And tell me, Marinette. How are you going to hide the cat from your parents if we go downstairs to watch telly?"

Marinette's nervous smile told Adrien that she hadn't thought about it. "Whops…"

"I have an idea," announced Alya. Marinette became stiff. Adrien had a feeling he wouldn't like what was coming next. "Let's play a game!"

"A game?" he and Marinette said at the same time.

"Yeah… something fun, that can take your mind away from your gloomy thoughts, kitty, and Marinette's mind away from... _worries_... and that we can do right here, right now, without needing any tool that could give away our black guest." The way she looked at him made it obvious that it wasn't at all the aim of the game.

"Like…?" he tentatively asked.

"Let's say… truth or dare?" There. Yeah, he didn't like it at all.

"ALYA!" Marinette raised her voice and then glanced around worriedly. Probably she was afraid her parents could hear her. She continued in a hissing whisper. "Chat Noir is a _superhero_. His identity must stay a secret. You can't ask him questions and expect him to be totally sincere!" Adrien smiled nervously and nodded. Several times.

"Well…" Alya didn't seem ready to give up on the idea. "We can put on a rule that any question that could reveal his identity is off limits. How about that? I pinky swear that I won't ask any identity reveal questions."

"Are you sure, Alya? I know you…" Marinette frowned at her, but Alya simply smiled at her, waving her pinky in her direction. Then, she gave him a sly look that sent chills down his spine.

"I _may_ inquire about juicy details that won't reveal your identity though," she whispered.

Marinette didn't look convinced at all, and neither was he, to be honest. He knew that Alya wanted to inquire about his mood and why he was there, and there was no way he was going to answer her questions. But as long as his identity wasn't in danger, he couldn't see any issues about the game and he had been told that it was quite fun. "What if there's a question that you don't want to answer or a dare you don't want to do because it's too embarrassing?" he eventually asked. "I heard this game is fun but I've never played it so I don't know what to expect." He decided to be sincere.

Both Marinette and Alya stared at him with eyes so wide he thought they may have seen a ghost. He turned around to check behind him but there was nothing there. "Huh?"

"Where have you lived all your life Chat Noir? I thought you were the extrovert type!" Alya was still raising her eyebrow at the discovery that Chat Noir had never played truth or dare in his life. Even Marinette looked surprised.

"Well things aren't always what they look like." His gaze dropped to the floor as he said that. He wasn't ready to admit to the girls that his life was way less exciting than they may think. He felt blood rush to his cheeks and his hand reached nervously for the back of his neck. Alya's surprised stare turned into a frown, as if she was suspecting something.

"If you don't want to take on a dare or answer a question, kitty, you need to pay a penalty," she eventually said.

"Which is?"

"Take off a piece of clothing!" said Alya nonchalantly. "Which doesn't include shoes, socks or belts!"

"Hey! That's not fair!" Adrien felt a surge of sweat reaching his forehead. He liked this less and less. He could see in his mind, Plagg cackling furiously at all this mess he put himself in. "I only have my belt that I can possibly take off!"

"Mmmmmmh…." Alya looked at him, then she moved near him. She inspected his suit closely. VERY closely. _Uncomfortably_ closely. "You wear boots…"

"Which you say don't count! I don't even know if I can take them off!" he sighed. "I never tried…"

She continued to inspect his suit. "Do these covers come off?" she pointed at the covers at the top of his hands.

"No idea again."

"They have a button!" she said and kept looking. Her gaze reached his chest. "There's a zip here!" she explained triumphantly, pointing at the zip in the centre of his chest.

"And you have a bell…" added Marinette timidly. He remembered that Plagg wasn't exactly impressed with his suit. Was this the reason?

"No idea if that can come off. And as to the zip… I don't know if it opens or not." But as he said that, he felt an odd feeling on his chest, as if something had been released. He looked at his neck and noticed that the suit was slightly looser on him. _PLAGG! I will KILL you when I will see you again! What are you doing?_ He saw Alya's hand reaching the zipper on his chest and tentatively pulling it down, just a tiny little bit.

It went down. Suddenly the room had become VERY hot.

"There. It works, you liar! We can get started then?"

"B-b-b-b-b-b-b-ut… I don't think I have… anything… underneath…"

Alya feigned surprise and... offense? "Come on Chat Noir... I can't believe that the flirt of Paris is here, with two beautiful girls who want him to bare his chest… and feels embarrassed to do it? We don't want you to take off your mask, buddy. _Just_ your suit."

That was going to be the death of him. Oh dear. He looked at Marinette trying to get support, but Marinette was smiling and looked close to laughing, even if the slightest shade of pink was dusting her cheeks. That wasn't helpful, Marinette! "What's funny about this?" he scowled.

"You know, normally I'm the nervous one when we play this game," she giggled. "It's fun to see _you_ embarrassed for once, kitty!" She laughed softly. He knew he had been in trouble the moment he had seen Alya's head popping out of the trap door. Now he was certain. He wasn't going to survive the night!

"You… you have a b-b-b-b-oyfriend, Alya!" Adrien was trying any escape route.

"So what? Nino won't mind… as long as I don't touch!" To emphasise her words, she moved her finger from his zipper to his shoulders down his arm. He shivered and felt terrible about it.

"Shall we start then?" Alya smirked and stood to pick up a plastic bottle on Marinette's desk; she finished drinking the water inside and then put it on the floor, sitting down in a way that they were facing each other in a circle. "To make it fair, let's spin the bottle to see who asks first. After that, it's taking turns with the person they ask questions to, kittycat. They choose." At least letting out that he had never played with it had the advantage that Alya was explaining the rules.

He nodded and the bottle started spinning. It stopped in front of Chat Noir, who rubbed his hands in delight. For once, he had been lucky!

"Ok kitty… now you call the name of a person and you ask, 'truth or dare' and see what the person says. Depending on what they want to do, you ask a question that they need to answer truthfully or you 'dare' them to do something that you think they may not want to do," explained Marinette. Then she blushed slightly and added with a cunning smile (wow he had never seen a cunning smile on Marinette!) "Like pulling the zipper on your chest down for example!" She laughed softly as blood rushed back to his cheeks. _Bugger, Marinette!_

"Okay… so… let me see… mmmmmmmh…. _Marinette_ … truth or dare?" She had asked for it.

"Truth!" she said, too fast for his sanity.

"Mhhhhh…" He pretended not to know what to ask, but he had one question that was fluttering around his brain since much earlier on. Maybe he could use this chance to find out. For once he was grateful to Alya for mentioning a cue, or he wouldn't have been able to ask without revealing himself. "Alya said that you asked her to come here because you had given something to someone… what and to whom?" He did feel a pang of satisfaction in seeing her cheeks catching fire at the question. At least he wasn't the only embarrassed one any more. He smiled his trademark Cheshire grin.

"Wow… and you said you didn't know how to play, Chat Noir? I'm impressed!" Alya stared at him, then moved her gaze to Marinette who was still looking at the floor and appeared flushed.

"I may not have played before, Alya, but I'm _paw_ sitively awesome and you know it!" He winked at her, earning a glare from Marinette, but a blown kiss and a wink in return from Alya. He sniggered – this wasn't that bad after all!

"Uh… well," He saw Marinette's blush grow deeper and she fell silent for a moment. Then she took a big breath and looked at him with a determined frown. "I… there's this boy that I… I like, I have to-told you about him al-already." Adrien nodded and then choked on his saliva and started coughing.

"Are you all right, kittycat?" Alya reached him and gave him a couple of strong slaps on his back.

"Uh. Yeah, better…" What had she just said? What was she implying? He knew whom she had given the _something_ to!

"The last few weeks I have seen him getting sadder and sadder and I didn't know what was going on. He hadn't said anything to anyone, including Nino and he's his best friend. I didn't know what to think. Then, the last couple of days in school he had looked borderline depressed.

"I'm not particularly good at talking around him, but even Kim, one of our classmates, had noticed that he was down; and, let's say, Kim doesn't shine in the brightness department." Adrien was staring at Marinette quietly. The only thing he could think about was the first sentence she had uttered. _'There's this boy that I LIKE.'_

"So, I decided to look up if there was anything happening this weekend, like fencing tournaments, fairs, events… I couldn't find anything. Then I happened to see a message on Twitter of a girl talking about her mother and wishing her a happy Mother's Day this morning. She was from the UK." He gulped. "I know that his mother disappeared a bit over a year ago and I know that she came from an English family." She blushed deep red at his stare. "Don't look at me like that, Kitty. It's not that difficult to work out. Her surname was Graham de Vanily, after all. Graham isn't a French surname." If someone had stabbed him in the heart, he wouldn't have felt it. "So, I understood that he may be sad for that reason. It makes sense that someone coming from a country may want to celebrate things when she's used to it and not when… _we_ do it. Are you OK, Kitty? You look… _crimson_."

"Uh…" he managed to say. He felt that his face had reached a new shade of purple. "O…k…" he eventually said.

Marinette sighed again. "So I kind of thought that I wanted to do something to cheer him up. And… I baked some passion fruit macarons, his favourite, and put them in the shape of a flower and wrote a little note to cheer him up and brought it to his house." She eyed Alya as she spoke, and said the last sentence all together, quickly, trying to get it out as if she wouldn't have been able to say it at normal speed. She was panting heavily now, her gaze firmly resting on the floor.

"OH MY GOD Marinette! Have you REALLY given it to him?" Alya sounded ecstatic, her arms raised in a victory gesture and her eyes wide. Adrien's stare moved from Marinette to Alya's excited face to Marinette again. "You can't understand, Chat. She's been drooling over Buttercup for ages. Absolutely AGES. Did you give him that present Marinette?" _(Buttercup?)_ Adrien raised an eyebrow.

"I gave it to Nathalie. She said she would give it to him."

"As long as the b…. mhhhhhhh ok, the _nice woman_ doesn't dump the note like last time!"

 _WHAT?_ Ok, he had to park that thought for the next truth he was going to ask.

"Did you sign your note, Marinette?"

Her face flushed again. "Uh… I can't remember."

Alya facepalmed. "At least I don't think even _he_ can be this dense…"

Adrien glared at Alya. _Hey! Was that what his friends thought of him?_

"Don't look at me like that, kittycat. I love the sunshine boy. He's great fun and as good as the tastiest croissant." Adrien raised his eyebrow again. "But I swear to God, Kitty, he's dense. The whole school knows that Marinette has been drooling all over him for ages. THE WHOLE SCHOOL. Sometimes I think even some of the _teachers_ know. He's the only one who doesn't know, who doesn't see it." She sighed dramatically. "But carry on, Marinette. You may want to finish before our friend here has a heart attack." She looked again at him, raising an eyebrow and scrutinising him. VERY suspiciously. The room felt hot again.

"There's nothing else, Alya, I haven't heard from him. I don't even know if he got it yet, maybe Nathalie will give it to him in the morning, no idea." Marinette looked at him again. "Are you sure you're OK, Kitty?" She frowned at him, but there was no way he could say anything. "Kitty?"

He came back to reality and realised that Marinette had gone on all fours and moved very close to his face. He instinctively moved back a few steps. His heart seemed to want to get out of his chest and new tears were betraying him again and were flowing from his eyes, down his cheeks. She was obviously waiting for him to react somehow at her gift and he – LIKE THE IDIOT HE WAS – had managed to ruin it by coming in as Chat Noir. _Congratulations, Adrien!_

_The boy that I like_

_The boy that I like_

_The boy that I like_

_The WHOLE SCHOOL knows_

_INCLUDING THE TEACHERS!_

_HE. Didn't have. A beeping. Clue._

Oh, dear God! _Please_ stop. Just stop. He shook his head and wiped away his tears. Maybe he _really_ was dense... "Yes. OK. I'm fine." He sniffed.

He was NOT fine.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Hi everyone! I can swear this story is growing legs. I thought I was going to only have part 2, but instead it's turning into a full blown up chaptered story. Just… Alya came to life here and went in full reporter mode, and there's nothing to stop her now. So keep following this, because if you thought in this chapter that Chat Noir couldn't get any more embarrassed than this, think again.**

**Thank you all for the kudos, bookmarks and comments! Comments are what keep me going and motivated so if you want quick updates, you know what to do. Leave me a note and make my day! I will always answer as soon as I read :)**

**HUGE thanks to my awesome betas Speckleflower and Agrestebug. Again, I'm such a lucky girl to have you two to toss ideas to and to correct my mistakes!**

**Until next update… au revoir =0)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A Daring Mother's Day - chapter 3**

**Written by: JuliaFC**

**Beta-read by: Agrestebug and Speckleflower. Thank you SO much! You're both the best! :)**

**Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by (c) Thomas Astruc, TS1 Bouygues, Disney Channel, Zagtoon, Toei Animation. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.**

oOo

"Shall we carry on?" Alya looked amused when she noticed that both he and Marinette had been startled at her words.

"Oh yes." Marinette coughed politely. "Alya. Truth or dare?"

Alya gave Marinette a knowing look. "Dare!" She smiled when she saw Marinette's face lit up.

"Good! I dare you to delete the picture of us hugging from your phone." That was clever, Marinette. Adrien felt a sudden urge to run towards her and hug her again. No, that would have been totally inappropriate.

Alya feigned outrage. "No way!" she hissed and started unbuttoning her shirt. Adrien raised an eyebrow as she took the shirt off and dumped it in the centre of the circle, on top of the plastic bottle. She was left with only her white tank-top that she wore underneath.

"Now. Ask me a truth question." She crossed her arms on her chest and smiled at Marinette's surprise. "That's a new version of the game I have been playing with Nino all this time."

"Is this how you extrapolate the truth from him, Alya?" Marinette gave her an inquiring look.

Alya giggled. "Yes. Was this your question?"

Marinette feigned shock. "No way, Alya! You won't get away with it so easily!" Her friend laughed. "Ok… truth. Have you kissed any other boy before Nino?"

 _I think I'm going to really like this game_ , he mused to himself.

"NO! Marinette, who do you think I am?" Both girls laughed. He attempted a smile as well until he saw Alya turning around towards him with a determined look on her face. Oh boy, there it was. Maybe he wasn't going to like this game after all.

"Chat Noir… truth or dare?"

"Uh…" He suddenly felt sweaty. "T-truth?" He repented of it immediately when he saw the wide smile that appeared on Alya's face and the frown that spread all over Marinette's.

Alya rubbed her hands in anticipation. "Good good… you're a superhero, after all, you're supposed to be brave!" She gave him a sly look that sent chills down his spine. He didn't feel brave at all. "So… tell me Chat Noir, what has been your most embarrassing moment with Ladybug?" Her gaze was amused and cunning as he gulped awkwardly. "Be assured that THIS conversation _will_ end up on the Ladyblog, kitty."

"But…" he argued.

"Oh please. It's got nothing to do with your identity, right? So I can use it and abuse it. Now be a good cat and answer. Or start stripping!" Another cunning look.

Adrien blushed furiously, as his left hand nervously reached the back of his head and rested for a while on his neck. Alya's cunning look turned into a frown. "Uh… I don't know which one to pick," he admitted gingerly. "There are so many…" He glanced at Marinette and he wished he hadn't, because the soft look she was giving him would have melted the ice at the top of Mount Everest.

"As I said," Alya stated matter of factly, "The one you feel is the most embarrassing." She messed with her phone and then pointed it towards him. "It's on record, so I don't forget."

Adrien facepalmed. Full reporter mode on! There was only one moment he could actually think of… and he felt honestly a bit awkward at talking about it. "Uh… well… you remember the day Nadja Chamack was akumatised?" he started. Alya and Marinette both nodded. "Well… we were on the train and Ladybug fell on top of me because Nadja made the train stop abruptly. And… I… well… I _purred_." He didn't like the amused gleam in Alya's eyes. Not at all. And when he looked at Marinette he saw a gleam of… tenderness in her gaze. That made his heart race even faster.

"You did what? I didn't hear that clear enough." Alya put her hand to her ear.

"I PURRED!" He pouted and crossed his arms on his chest. "And Ladybug heard it and asked me about it."

Alya stopped recording from her phone. "I had NO IDEA that your cat tendencies were more than just a facade, kittycat. That's very tempting, isn't it Marinette?"

"Huh?" Marinette gave her a surprised look.

"It's sooooo nice when cats purr. Shall we try making him purr again? What do you think?"

 _Say no, say no, say no, say no…_ He didn't like that soft smile forming on Marinette's lips.

"Why not?"

He widened his eyes and moved on all fours trying to escape, but the two giggling girls didn't take long to catch him. Between Alya tickling him under his chin and Marinette stroking his hair, he thought he was going to explode.

"Please STOP!" he begged, but his protest only caused more giggles. Then Marinette found a tender spot behind his ears and started scratching it softly. And he could not hold it any more. He was defeated. The purr came out clear and loud, to his faked distress. Faked, yes… because he was starting to enjoy Marinette scratching his ears a little bit too much for his liking. _Forgive me Ladybug!_

"Oh that's so sweet," said Alya as she found the exact same spot behind the other ear and started scratching it as well. The purr somehow doubled, to both girls' delight. He ended up with his head resting on Marinette's lap. His tail seemed to have gained its own life; the tip of it was moving rhythmically, almost following the purring sound.

Adrien was embarrassed, but he nearly moaned when the two girls let go of his ears and went back into their sitting position in the circle, gesturing him to return to his spot. He sighed and did as he was told, his ears now flat on his head.

"Your turn, kittycat!" announced Alya. His sad expression turned into glee as his ears perked up in anticipation. He rubbed his hands. He was going to get back at Alya. He could surely find something embarrassing to ask her.

"Alya… truth or dare?" he said with a cunning smile.

"Truth, kittycat." She smiled back.

He rubbed his hands again. "Cool… so… How far have you gone with… Nino?" He pretended that he didn't remember his best friend's name and was satisfied to see the astonished look that Alya gave him.

"You sly little thing…" she muttered and he sniggered. "I'm NOT telling you." She picked up the border of her top and firmly pulled it over her head, removing it, and then dumped it at the top of her shirt, in the centre of the circle. It was Adrien's turn again to feel embarrassed, as this gesture revealed a pretty laced orange bra wrapping Alya's generous breast, with nothing else to cover her bust. He gulped. Nino wasn't going to be happy with him.

"Now kitty, what's your dare?" She crossed her arms on her chest and stared at him. It took a moment for Adrien to recover from the shock, but he wasn't happy that Alya had managed somehow to turn the table again and embarrass _him_ rather than the other way round. He had a serious thought about it and then he smirked and looked at her.

"I dare you to take a selfie with me, right _meow_ , and send it to Nino." He grinned his trademark Cheshire grin as he eyed Marinette, and saw the surprise in her eyes.

Alya looked stunned too, but her amazement didn't last long. She looked at him funny, smiled cunningly, moved on all fours toward him and turned on the front camera of her phone. "Say cheese, kitty!" she said amusedly and took the picture with one hand, while with the other she was making a victory sign near his head.

She gave him another sly look as soon as the photo was sent to Nino's phone number. "You know that this will go on the Ladyblog too, don't you?" She smiled at the terrified look he gave her. "I have always wanted to post an interview with Chat Noir… my readers will excuse my bra showing in the cover picture." Adrien wanted to say something, but as he opened his mouth, Alya's phone started ringing and she picked it up with a chuckle. It was Nino. She put him on loudspeaker.

"What's with that picture?" asked Nino's voice from her phone.

"Nothing, honey. I'm just having a sleepover with Marinette here, and we happened to get an unexpected guest." Alya smirked at him far too amused for his taste, making him shift uncomfortably as her eyes sparked in mischief.

"Als, that's not what I'm worried about and you know it. Why can I see your bra in the picture?"

Alya smiled again. "We're having a few rounds of truth or dare. I lost. Nothing to worry about."

"Oh…" Nino's voice sounded surprised. "Did Chat Noir really agree to play truth or dare with _you_?"

"You bet he did…" Alya sniggered.

"Wow. He's a brave dude…" Nino really sounded impressed. Adrien felt more a fool than a brave dude, but he didn't object.

"You have no idea!" Alya smiled again. "Rest assured, Nino, that I'm having the time of my life. And you will know all about it when I see you." This seemed to calm Nino down a bit, and the two said goodnight to each other with a long-distance kiss.

"Very well. Now…" Alya rubbed her hands together and winked at Adrien, who started sweating and smiled nervously back. "It's _my_ turn!" She kept looking pointedly at him, a hard smile on her face.

"Uh… are you picking me?" he said tentatively. When she nodded, without losing the hard smile, he gulped. "D-dare…"

Alya's smile widened. "You _are_ a brave dude…" she repeated Nino's comment. Adrien gulped again. He honestly didn't know what was worse when Alya was concerned.

"Maybe he just doesn't want to answer any more embarrassing questions to go on your blog, Alya!" Marinette smiled shyly.

"Maybe…" Alya said salaciously. He didn't like the look she was giving him. He knew she wasn't happy and that she was planning her revenge. But he wouldn't have expected, even in a million years, what Alya said next. "I dare you to kiss Marinette senselessly, on the lips."

"WHAT?" he and Marinette said at the exact same time.

"You heard, kitty. Now do the business or, as I already said, show your abs." She gave him a knowing look of pure triumph.

Marinette though didn't look very impressed with her friend. "ALYA! YOU CAN'T ASK CHAT NOIR TO KISS ME!"

"Why not? I can't possibly ask him to kiss _me…_ or Nino would really have something to worry about." She shrugged. "There's only one more person in this room…"

Adrien's face was surely matching the colour of Ladybug's suit. He felt his cheeks on fire and his heart pounding madly in his chest. This couldn't be happening… He knew what kind of kiss Alya was implying and… he really wanted that kiss to be with Ladybug.

Until now, that he remembered about, he had just brushed lips once with Kagami and that had been a kiss he wished he'd forget. He hadn't felt anything of what he had read in the books or in the comics he loved to read. He had done his best to hide his disappointment, but Kagami had noticed it, he was sure of that. From that day on, she had come to visit him much less often. But he couldn't help feeling the way he had felt; he didn't love Kagami, he loved Ladybug. He didn't want to have a similar experience today with Marinette. As much as he had been embarrassed in every possible way up to now, he had really enjoyed the company of the two girls. He didn't want to ruin it.

There was only one thing to do. But the second he thought that, he felt a tightening sensation to the neck of his suit. _PLAGG? SERIOUSLY? Are you trying to give me a heart attack or something?_ Adrien put a hand on his bell and tried to pull down the zip. It didn't move an inch. He put a hand on his collar and one on the bell and pulled more firmly, but his attempt was met with an even stronger resistance.

"What is it, Kitty? Are you getting hot in there?" Alya mocked him.

"The zipper won't work!" Adrien started pulling the bell so strongly he thought it was going to snap. "I swear I'm going to kill Plagg when I see him again!"

"Who's _Plagg_?" asked Marinette, as she crawled closer to him and started pulling the bell down with him; based on the frown in her face, Adrien had the strong feeling that she wanted to join the queue of the people who wanted to kill Plagg tonight.

Alya watched the scene unfolding in front of her in pure delight. She turned her camera on and started filming and taking pictures. "Yes, kittycat. Who's Plagg?"

"PLAGG! IF YOU HEAR ME… AND I KNOW YOU DO… YOU CAN FORGET YOUR CAMEMBERT WHEN I GET BACK HOME. I WILL DUMP EVERY SINGLE PIECE IN YOUR STASH, YOU EVIL KWAMI!" Adrien was going to continue, but Marinette pressed her hand on his mouth and shushed him, giving him a warning look. _Oh yes,_ Adrien thought. _Her parents!_

"So… Plagg is your... _kwami_?" Alya was now in full reporter mode. "Is that a magic creature that gives you powers? Does he like Camembert cheese? Is he a cat?"

Adrien nodded. "Yes. And he's going to be a dead kwami tonight!" He tried to take off the covers over his gloves, but found that even those wouldn't come off. His boots were also stuck. He tried again to pull down his bell, and the zip went in the opposite direction, reaching the rim of his suit's collar, halfway up his neck. Alya was literally roaring with laughter by now and Adrien expected that Plagg was also cackling madly, wherever he was when he transformed.

"Well… since your kwami is holding your abs captive… I think you've got only one option left," Alya pointed out. "We don't have all night…"

Adrien's cat ears were flat on his head. He turned towards Marinette and gave her a quick glance, and her flustered look made his heart race faster in his chest. He felt horrible. She was clearly distressed and Adrien now knew why. She liked Adrien. She had said that earlier. But she didn't know that _he_ was Adrien and she didn't want to kiss, especially that way, another boy. _I'm so sorry, Marinette..._

"There's no way of getting out of this?" he asked Marinette. She shook her head slowly. Maybe he could just brush lips with her like he did with Kagami and Alya would be satisfied? He sighed as his heartbeat raced even faster. "So… with your permission, Marinette…"

His lips pressed on hers and nothing could have prepared him for the rush of emotions that this small contact unleashed. He felt like a lightning bolt had struck him straight on the head. His initial resolution of 'just brushing lips' was immediately forgotten, like the rest of the world around him. He found himself wrapping his hands around her neck and passing his fingers through her hair, accidentally taking off the laces that held her pigtails. He started brushing her soft hair with his claws and took a deep breath, filling his lungs with her scent. She smelled of jasmine and wildflower like the towel she had given him. And of cookies. _Yummy cookies._ He knew he'd never get enough cookies.

With a small part of his brain he realised that they had both fallen on the ground, and that part of his brain found itself raving at how soft she was underneath him. Flashes ran through his mind of Marinette smiling at him, Marinette stuttering in front of him, Marinette trying to kiss him the day he had pretended to be a statue, Marinette reappearing under his umbrella that had closed on her face, Marinette looking at the surprise he had made for Ladybug with her eyes wide open, Marinette hugging him and telling him that she loved him. Marinette's macarons and note that had so much warmed up his heart just a few hours before.

So… those butterflies really existed? And they really took residence in your stomach? He didn't know why, but his stomach seemed full of them now. Lovely little butterflies… He pulled himself on top of her breathlessly and firmly deepened the kiss. He wanted to savour her entirely, not leave a single inch unexplored. He widened his eyes in shock when he tentatively tried to push his tongue in… and she allowed it. _Oh Marinette… you're going to drive me insane!_ She tasted sweet and… wet... and her teeth were smooth and… he realised that his last coherent thought had just died in his head as the butterflies in his stomach seemed to explode and a burning sensation replaced them, increasing until it ravaged and ignited every part of him, starting from his gut.

He reluctantly tore his lips from hers, out of a purely desperate need to breathe, and pinned his elbows so that he could look at her straight in the eyes. Those beautiful bluebell eyes that looked like the depth of an ocean. Those eyes that were so painfully similar to those of Ladybug. He distinctly felt his brain picking the word Ladybug and dumping it in its most remote part, called 'forget me now', and felt guilty for a teeny tiny second.

Who was he kidding? He didn't feel guilty at all.

Oh boy.

"Woooooow…" was all he managed to say. Marinette was looking at him in utter shock and didn't even manage to say that.

"Ahem!" The sound of Alya clearing her throat brought them back to reality like a cold shower. Adrien turned towards Alya and saw that the girl was pointing her phone at them with a dreamy look on her face. "That was something else guys. Wow!"

Adrien forced himself to move from on top of her, his entire being protesting in pain for merely thinking of moving away. He felt a sense of belonging and rightiness by staying right there, and when they separated he couldn't feign it and he groaned. His legs felt like jelly. He didn't trust himself to be able to stand again and just bummed his way back to his spot in the circle, like little kids do before they are able to stand and walk. Marinette stood up to return to her own spot, and she looked quite wobbly too. She sat down gingerly and started combing her hair into pigtails again.

They were both silent for a long instant, staring into nothing.

"So…" Alya's voice brought Adrien back from his little spot in dreamland. "Your turn now."

"Uh…" He couldn't take Marinette out of his head. He was staring at her in what he was sure was a totally idiotic look. Did he care? Not in the slightest. "Marinette…" he barely managed to say. He didn't even know if he wanted to ask her a question or a dare, he just couldn't say anything else.

"Yeah?" came her reply, in the exact same dreamy tone of voice.

"Kiss me again?" He couldn't take that kiss off his mind.

"Not a chance, Kitty…" was her reply. Her voice was still dreamy and soft, but Adrien had an odd feeling of deja vu. He remembered way too well another time he had tried to kiss someone, this time Ladybug… and she had refused using the exact same words. He looked at Marinette in utter confusion.

"Seriously guys… this is getting ridiculous." Alya moved towards Adrien and waved a hand in front of his eyes. "Hello? World to Chat Noir? Anybody at home?" When even this didn't work, she put a hand on his cheek and pinched him.

" _Meowch_!" Finally Adrien woke up from his dream. He noticed that even Marinette had been startled by his sudden reaction. "Why did you do that?"

Alya sighed. "It's your turn. You called Marinette. You need to ask her, truth or dare?"

"Oh yeah. Sorry…" He glanced guiltily at the floor. "Truth or dare, Marinette?" He seemed to have regained consciousness at last. Alya returned to her spot.

"Dare!" Marinette seemed to have regained her wit too. Only problem was… his mind was blank and he didn't know what to ask. Hang on a second. He may know what to say.

"Ok… so… I dare you… I dare you to show me your darkest and most embarrassing secret." He didn't know how he had managed to say all of that. His tongue still felt a bit slurry.

She glared at him. "You're worse than Alya, Kitty…" she scolded him. He stuck his tongue out at her.

"This is awkward... " Marinette muttered. "I'm only wearing my pyjamas and I don't wear a bra… so you can forget that I'd undress!" Only at that moment did Adrien actually notice that Marinette was indeed wearing her pyjamas. The same one she was wearing when they were forced to escape all over Paris by a hoard of his fans.

"Well.. if you really don't want to tell, then show us something embarrassing… like the content of your underwear drawer for example!" He was joking, but Marinette turned crimson and gave him a killer glare.

"I could totally take that as a dark secret!" He smiled his Cheshire grin.

"Right!" What did she mean by saying 'right'? Was she really going to show him? He was only joking! He honestly didn't think he could take it! "I will show you…" _No no no Marinette…_ he watched in utter disbelief as Marinette stood up and marched towards the edge of the mezzanine that held her bed. She put a hand up and pulled down something that he had never noticed when he had come to her room. It looked like… a sort of diary? He put a hand to his chin and frowned.

"What am I looking at?" he inquired.

Marinette sighed. "You remember I told you earlier about the b-boy that I like…" Adrien nodded, as what was written on that monthly diary started to sink in his brain. He could read fencing, piano and Chinese… _what…_

"Yes… what about him?"

"Well… I'm a little bit _f-fond_ of him and… k-kind of want to keep informed…" she tentatively admitted. When he nodded she continued, "so I kind of… m-made this schedule… It's his monthly routine." The dreamy look on her face caught him by surprise. "So I know where he is and what he's doing all the time."

That girl was totally insane. Totally. She had his whole month planned in her planner. She also knew when he was doing photoshoots. How on Earth did she know that? He thought that those details were only stored on… Nathalie's tablet? "Where… where did you get all this information?" Blood drained from his face as he saw that she even knew about an upcoming photoshoot that Nathalie had told him about on Friday. He stood up and walked towards the pull down board.

Marinette looked up at the ceiling feigning innocence. "Uh… you know… a girl has her ways…"

"Her ways? This is insane, Marinette! I understand you like him, but this is borderline obsession." He kept looking pointedly at the photoshoot he had been told about only on Friday. He doubted anybody knew about it except his father, Nathalie and himself. When his attention darted from that photoshoot to today's date though, his heart warmed a little bit. She had circled the day in red and had written 'mother's day' on it, and adorned it with a couple of little hearts. He put his hand on it and looked at it dreamily.

"As I said earlier…" she started to say.

He nodded. "Yes, I remember. Sorry Marinette, I probably shouldn't have asked. I'm totally speechless. This is more than anybody would ever do for someone they love." His hand was still resting on today's date as he spoke. "I am really curious to know how you got all this information… I didn't think that it was so easy to hack…" he was nearly saying 'Nathalie's tablet' but he managed to keep his mouth shut at the last second and bit his tongue. Shoot. He had nearly given himself away! He looked at Marinette and noticed that she had turned crimson at the very mention of the word 'hack'.

"Uh… one of the boys in my class… Max. I think you met him." Adrien nodded. "He's a genius with computers. He asked me a favour a couple of months ago… he wanted help to design a new style for his best friend. I helped him… and he helped me.. Er… hack Nathalie's tablet... " She covered her face with her hands when his eyes became as big as saucers. So she frigging _did_ hack Nathalie's tablet! That girl was unreal!

But he couldn't help feeling such a buzzing feeling inside at the thought that she was spending so much time and effort just to keep track of what he was doing. If it wasn't creepy, it would be extremely sweet.

Okay, it was sweet. Very sweet. Creepy, but sweet.

"That's funny, Chat Noir," Alya's voice sounded surprised from her spot. "I wonder why it bothers you so much that Marinette hacked that *ahem* nice woman's tablet and is following Sunshine's schedule."

Adrien paled. "Uh. No, it doesn't bother me…" His hand reached the back of his neck, as his gaze darted to the ceiling. Alya seemed to be able to read him like an open book right now. "It's just… creepy." He saw Marinette's eyes widen and her nervous smile turn into a frown; his heart sank. Oh no! He didn't want to upset her! He really didn't want to upset her!

Alya's gaze was very serious now, and Adrien gulped awkwardly, trying to understand what he was doing wrong. "Isn't it normal for people to be surprised by seeing all this?" He pointed at the schedule.

"Surprised, yes. Maybe be a bit weirded out, yes. But totally freaked out like yourself… please allow me to have my doubts," she said. And then she added in a whisper that only his cat ears could make out, "Unless… unless there's more to it than it catches the eye…" Alya's lips curled in a cunning smile, her gaze locked onto his. He had the sudden nasty feeling that the cat was out of the bag, and if that was the case… Ladybug would kill him stone dead.

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Hi there! Here we are with chapter 3. What do you think? :)**

**I had told you that Chat's embarrassment had only started, hadn't I? :D As you can see, I wasn't lying. I will try to update with next chapter sooner this time. Thank you so much for all the comments, bookmarks and kudos. When I see a notification from this website it always warms my heart. So please keep the reviews coming! I really want to know what you think!**

**And thank you again to Agrestebug and Speckleflower for their immense help, and to my friend genxha, for giving me his opinion, from a man's point of view, of Chat's feelings in this chapter, and a couple of ideas to spice things up. :)**

**Until next update**

**Bug out!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A Daring Mother's Day - chapter 4**

**Written by: JuliaFC**

**Beta-read by: Agrestebug and Speckleflower. Thank you SO much! You're both the best! :)**

**Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by (c) Thomas Astruc, TS1 Bouygues, Disney Channel, Zagtoon, Toei Animation. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.**

oOo

"Have you satisfied your curiosity, Kitty?" Marinette looked quite flustered and had started to give him odd looks as well.

_I need to be careful here,_ Adrien thought. _I have the nasty feeling that Alya is figuring out who I am. I don't want Marinette to understand too. It would be totally embarrassing after all that she's said and shown me. And after the kiss…_ he still couldn't get over that kiss. But one thing was sure, he was going to order the finest Camembert that he was going to be able to find, as soon as he went home.

Wait… did he really just think that?

"Uh… yes, I did," he managed to say when he realised that he had been quiet for a little while after her question and both girls were staring at him, waiting for his answer. He walked back to his spot and sat down cross-legged again, immediately copied by Marinette who also returned to her spot. "Your turn, then."

Marinette smiled and looked at him. "Chat Noir, truth or dare?"

Shoot. "Truth," he whispered. He didn't even want to think what she would dare him to do after he made her confess about her obsession.

"Interesting…" she said softly. "Are you scared, Kitty?"

Adrien feigned confidence. "Scared? Moi? There's not a single scared bone in my body, purrincess!"

Marinette cringed, but snapped back, "We shall see…" and a shiver ran down his spine. "So… Chat Noir, I have always wondered how and when you fell in love with Ladybug, and why?"

"That's a good one!" Alya exclaimed and messed with her phone, undoubtedly turning it to record. Adrien scowled at her.

"Purrincess… this is not fair. You asked three questions! How, when and why." He counted them on his clawed fingers. "Surely that's too many?"

Marinette looked at him sheepishly. "Oh, you can count!" He glared at her. "I was joking, Kitty, don't look at me like that! Uh… I suppose you have a point, although they are related questions so I think they could count as one. But… just pick the one you feel comfortable answering."

"It's OK Marinette. I wouldn't want to leave you with your curiosity unsatisfied." He saw the gleam of excitement appear in both girls' eyes. "But it's my turn after and… I will answer you in full if you promise me to answer two questions of mine." He gave her a soft smile.

Marinette sighed and blushed softly, looking pointedly at the floor. "Sounds fair."

"Okay. So… to answer your questions, When I fell in love with Ladybug? The first day I met her." He noticed that Marinette had raised her eyebrow and was looking at him in puzzlement. "Ok, you're right, maybe that was just infatuation or pure admiration. But when she first fought with me she started off being all clumsy and unsure of herself. She looked so fragile and terrified and kept saying that she wasn't good enough, that she wasn't meant to be a superhero, that she was so clumsy... " _She sounded a bit like… you?_ The very thought just crossed his mind for a teeny second but he decided to park it and think about it later. Marinette looked a bit flushed, he wondered why.

"But then," he continued, "when Hawkmoth's face appeared in the cloud of butterflies, I saw her standing up for herself, taking all her courage at hand and her heart on her sleeve. She faced that monster and put him in his place and displayed such an amazing self-belief and confidence and bravery… that at that moment I felt every hair on my head stand up in pure admiration. And I thought… Oh wow. I really love that girl." He thought back at that moment and he could still feel the shivers just at the mere recollection of her speech. "But I hear you, I probably didn't fall in love with her at that point, I just admired the 'making of a hero'. However…"

He closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them up again, a dreamy expression on his face as he carried on talking. "The more I fought at her side, the more I discovered the girl behind the mask. And she's not only brave, but she's also funny and sassy and creative. She's always there to help you and will put her life at risk every day to ensure that people are safe and Paris isn't in danger. She's brave, but she's also a girl who doubts herself. I saw her crying because she felt that the responsibility she had been given was too much for her. I saw her panicking because she had put people's lives at risk, I saw her frustration when she couldn't understand how to use a lucky charm until the end. A couple of times I had to give her strength and believe me, I didn't mind seeing that fragile side of her and I was proud that she trusted me enough to show it to me and ask for my help." He stared at the nothing in front of him for some time until his gaze focused on Marinette again. She was so cute, all flustered like that.

"And you know… even if she keeps rejecting me, even if she keeps making fun of me every day, hitting me on the head more times than I remember, even if she gets exasperated every time I joke and can't see my _paw_ someness and the greatness of my cat puns...the more I know her, the more I learn about the amazing girl behind the mask, the more I can't help but falling in love with her over and over again." He sighed dreamily.

"So… you love her even if she's not perfect?" asked Marinette.

He raised his eyebrow. "I love her _because_ she's not perfect." He sighed. "I love the girl, not the mask."

"That's funny," Marinette whispered.

"What's funny?" He asked.

Marinette gave him an inquisitive look. "You claim to be in love with the girl, but yet… you wouldn't recognise the girl if she was standing in front of you in her civilian form."

"You can't know it for sure," he retorted. "I like to think that I would at least recognise how amazing she is. But it's funny you find it funny, Marinette." He paused to look at the surprise in her face. "I can guarantee you that you wouldn't be able to recognise me either if I walked in here as my civilian self."

Marinette raised an eyebrow. "I don't know about that…"

"I would put money on it." His hand reached for his nape and he scratched the back of his head.

"But anyway… back to Ladybug. She was very clear, she won't return my feelings so… I'll just wait and see. I keep hoping that one day she may change her mind. She mentioned this boy, but after all, things can change, right? So maybe one day she will forget about him and start looking at me instead! Hope is the last to die!" He sighed again and looked down, his ears flat on his head. He had struggled to say the last sentence, his words dying in his throat. He felt his eyes filling with tears again, quickly wiped them and took a big breath to calm down. His gaze darted between Marinette and Alya; both girls looked surprised.

"That's deep, Chat Noir," said Alya eventually. "Based on your personality and your flirts, I really thought that you loved Ladybug only because she was a strong girl who kept you in your place." She laughed when he glared at her. "But evidently that's not the case. Thank you for the question, Marinette. This is going to be gold dust for my Ladyblog."

Adrien blushed deeply. "I-I would rather you not use this for your b-blog."

"Why not?" Alya retorted. "It's nothing to do with your identity and believe me… you will break a few hearts with what you just said, and I wouldn't be surprised if Ladybug would treat you differently, after reading it!"

Adrien's gaze darkened. "That would be nice… but I know it won't happen." He sighed again and then looked at Marinette. "Is your curiosity satisfied?"

Marinette was looking at him with the softest look, her face beautifully flushed as if she was seeing him for the first time. "Yes," she whispered. "It is."

"Good," he said, and rubbed his hands. "So… as to my questions, do you mind choosing truth, Purrincess?"

"Truth," Marinette said and sighed.

"Thank you. So… it's my turn to ask you when you fell in love with that boy. It's Adrien, isn't it? The model. Adrien Agreste… The face that plasters all the walls of your room… right?" Marinette nodded slowly. He looked around. There must have been at least forty or fifty pictures of him there. Maybe more.

"And… I recall that Alya mentioned about a note that this _Nathalie_ had dumped. What was she talking about?" He saw that both girls were frowning and staring at him. "Hey, a cat can be curious!" He saw the cunning smile on Alya's lips and he knew that he was just throwing more wood and paper on her fire… but he had to ask. He would probably never get a chance like this again. Whatever it took, he wanted to know.

Marinette sighed. "Ok… since you answered truthfully to three questions, I will tell you." He shifted to make himself more comfortable and perked his ears up in anticipation. His heart pounded madly in his chest. He crossed his arms at the top of his legs and waited.

"The first day he came to school, Chloé introduced him as her friend, so I met him with a preconception already in my mind, thinking that he may be like her, a rich and spoiled brat," she started. _Huh, that hurts,_ he thought. "Later on, I caught him messing with my seat and I wrongly accused him, thinking that he was putting chewing gum where I should be sitting. Believe me, I hated him at that point." His ears went flat and the end of his tail started twitching.

"However…" she continued, "when we came out of school, it was raining, and I had forgotten my umbrella. He caught up with me, spoke to me and explained to me that he had been trying to remove the gum, he wasn't the one who had put it there. He looked at me with those gorgeous green eyes and told me that he didn't have experience in these things, it was the first time he went to school and that all he wanted was to make some friends. He gave me his umbrella, and it closed in my face, causing him to laugh. At that very moment, it was a coup de foudre. I looked at him again, his gaze locked into mine… and he took hold of my heart." As she said that, she pinned her elbows on her thighs and cupped her hands to her cheeks, looking at the space in front of her, dreamily.

She must have been joking. Right? He remembered very well the day he'd given her the umbrella. It was his first day in school! So… was she implying that she liked him from day one and he had been telling her that she was 'just a friend' all the time?

"But… you told me that you had pictures plastered all over your room of him only because you like fashion!" He needed to get this clear in his mind. She had told him this as Chat Noir, hadn't she? He was pretty sure she had, the time Penny was akumatised into Troublemaker. He glanced quickly at Alya and wished he hadn't done so.

She was staring with a massive smile on her face, her arms crossed on her chest, her eyebrow amusedly lifted. She was really enjoying the show. It was at this moment that he knew she knew the truth, and she knew that he knew. Great. So much for secrets.

He looked at Marinette again when he heard her sighing. "What else could I say? To you _or_ to him? Jagged Stone had intruded my privacy and his crew had filmed my room. He had also joked about Adrien being my crush. And I knew Adrien was watching. I didn't sleep that night, Chat. I had to find a way to set things right!"

"But why? If you love him, why not tell him? Why make him think that you hate him instead?" He heard Alya distinctly gasp at what he said and gave her a sad look, she smiled knowingly.

"I'm a _nobody_ , Chat. I'm only Marinette. He's too good for me. There's no way that it can work. I love him more than anything in the world, but there's no way that his father would approve of him in a relationship with the daughter of a baker. It would… harm the image of his brand." She was crying now. Oh God, he wished he could drop his transformation right there and then, and give her a massive hug and kiss her again. "And besides… when I'm near him I can't express myself. I get all tongue-tied and clumsy, I fall nine times out of ten, I blab nonsense and I've tried so hard, so many times to tell him how I feel about him and have never been able to!"

He stood up, walked towards her, kneeled down right in front of her and put a hand on each of her shoulders. He put one of his fingers on her chin and lifted her head, forcing her to look at him. "You're Marinette Dupain-Cheng. You won a fashion contest; you impressed Audrey Bourgeois. You're a wonderful girl, always ready to help everyone. You're brave, selfless; you're a ray of sunshine and a breath of fresh air. Don't you dare say that you're _a nobody_ ever again in my presence."

"How… how do you know these things, Chat? You weren't there. You had lost your miraculous!" she mused.

How did she know the excuse that Plagg has used with Ladybug? "I _was_ there. The fact that I had lost my miraculous only impeded me to be Chat Noir." He saw Marinette's lips form an 'o' shape and thought for a second that he had given himself away.

"You're into fashion yourself?" she asked; he breathed out in relief. No, she hadn't figured him out yet.

"A little bit…" He smiled, noticing with the corner of his eye Alya facepalming at the exchange." But back to my questions…"

"Oh yes!" It sounded almost like she had forgotten about it. "Sorry Chat… you asked about the note that Nathalie dumped." She sighed. "It was his birthday and I had made a scarf for him. I hand made it and spent a long time choosing material and colour, and making it from beginning to end."

"Yes I remember how many times you texted me at 2 am telling me that you were stuck!" Alya's words stabbed him in the back. The scarf he received for his birthday? Wasn't it from his father? He loved that scarf, it had been his favourite item to wear all winter!

"Yes. Well, I didn't know if I should have put my name on it or not…" Marinette spoke softly. _Of course you should have_! he thought exasperatedly. "In the end I decided that my signature shouldn't be there because it would have ruined the softness of the border."

"So? What happened?"

Marinette sighed. "I went to his house, like today, and Nathalie took the present and said she would give it to him."

"Yes, and you forgot to sign the note, again!" Alya cringed.

"Yes," Marinette dismissed her friend with a sad glance. "Then Nino got akumatised and created a party for his birthday and I managed to sneak in. I found the present in Nathalie's office, wrote a note on a post-it and attached it to the package." She fell silent.

"But then, the next morning Sunshine gets to school and the scarf is clearly resting on his neck. We ask him about it and he says that it's a present from his father!" Alya looked outraged. "And Marinette here decides that it's OK. After having spent two weeks of her life making the scarf, she decides that his father can keep the credit for it!" She slammed her fist on the top of her knee in frustration.

Adrien's blood boiled. Why did Nathalie do something like this? He couldn't believe that the only present he'd received for his birthday was from Marinette! "But why?" he eventually managed to say.

"You should have seen him, Chat." Her eyes got all dreamy again. "He was so happy! He said that it was the best present his father had ever given to him. I…" She sniffed. "I didn't have the heart to pop his bubble. It wouldn't have been fair on him."

Adrien groaned. "But how fair was that on you?"

"Good boy… that's what I have been wondering myself all along!" Alya mused.

"He was happy and that's what matters," Marinette said dismissively, but Adrien didn't want to let it go.

"No way," he retorted. He grabbed her hand in the heat of the moment. "Once, someone told me that when you receive a gift, it doesn't matter what it is, but the person who gave it to you. You robbed Adrien of the knowledge of the person that had made that gift for him, and that's a sin in my mind. His father didn't deserve the credit."

Marinette looked at him for some time and seemed unable to say anything back. She looked sad and almost defeated. Then, he saw tears coming out of her beautiful bluebell eyes and rolling down her cheeks. She didn't try to stop them and they dripped off her chin, on the hand he wasn't holding. "Oh Chat…" she started, but she couldn't continue.

He hugged her instinctively and undid her ponytails again with his claws. His gloved fingers ran effortlessly through her smooth hair. Why didn't she let her hair down more often? He loved how her hair felt in his hands. She must be using a shampoo that smelled of coconut, because while he rested his chin on her head he couldn't smell any more her jasmine and wildflower scent, or the cookies. Only coconut - he didn't mind, he liked coconut.

She was shaking and sobbing in his embrace. Had he exaggerated a little bit? He just got so furious when he found out about the scarf! Nathalie was lucky that Marinette was so good hearted. There was no point in creating drama now, months after his birthday. Had he known about it at the right time, he wouldn't have let it go.

"Are you ok, Marinette?" he whispered softly as he kissed her forehead. She nodded and tried to make a small smile. She wiped her tears with the back of her hands and breathed deeply to calm down. He quickly crawled behind her and gently took hold of her hair with his hands, creating little bluish black cat ears like buns at each side of her head.

"You've been changed into a cat, purrincess! Personal property of this Kitty!" he joked. Marinette laughed as she tried to squirm away from his hold, but he was stronger and kept her still while he grabbed the laces of her pigtails and set them up to keep hold of the cat ears buns. Then he went back in front of her and admired the result of his work. "That's _pawsome_. I should be a hairdresser!" He complimented himself.

"Not bad, Kittycat," came Alya's voice from her spot. "Marinette could take your job…" She laughed, but Marinette groaned.

"Alya! I couldn't possibly wear a miraculous!" she argued. "I'm not a hero," she continued.

Adrien put a finger under her chin and made her look up. "You weren't that bad as Multimouse!"

"Thanks, Kitty!" She smiled softly. "But I was too clumsy. I also dropped the transformation in front of you and Ladybug said that she can't give me the miraculous again."

"Hey!" Alya interrupted her. "Wow wow… expand a little bit on this, I had no idea! _You_ wore a miraculous? For real?" She turned on her phone in recording mode again.

Marinette glared at Adrien and his ears went flat on his head as he smiled nervously. "Whoops…" he muttered.

"That's all you can say, Chat Noir?" His nervous smile widened as his hand reached again to the back of his neck. What? He wasn't Kitty any longer?

Then, Marinette turned back to Alya and sighed. "Yes, Alya. Once Ladybug asked for my help and gave me the miraculous of the mouse. You remember when Ms Mendeliev got akumatised into Kwamibuster?" Alya nodded. "Ladybug needed help and gave me that miraculous. She said that I worked well, but I made the mistake to drop my transformation in front of Chat Noir, and apparently not even he's supposed to know who the heroes are. So I won't get the mouse any more. That's all."

"I see." Alya shrugged and turned off her phone. "Well… now it's your turn then."

Marinette turned to Adrien, who had returned to his usual spot in the circle. "Are you happy with the answer?" He nodded awkwardly. She certainly had satisfied his curiosity, although he wasn't happy with the answer at all. Not in the slightest. And he was going to be a man with a mission now, to put things right. He still didn't know what to do… but he would show his friends that he wasn't dense.

Although at this exact moment of time… he _did_ feel dense. Which didn't really help. No.

"Alya, truth or dare?" Marinette's voice brought him back to reality and he turned his head towards Alya, who was gleaming.

"Dare," she said.

Marinette took a little bit of time to ponder her next move. Then she gave him a stern look. Oh dear… was she going to have Alya do something to him? When was this game going to end?

"I dare you to ring Chat Noir's bell or pull his zipper down, if Plagg permits it." Adrien's eyes became as wide as saucers.

"Purrincess! You can't ask Alya to ring my bell!" He felt violated at the mere thought. "Only Ladybug is allowed to do that!"

Alya sighed. "Oh come on, Kittycat. I don't have much left to take off you know… I'm not going to take my bra off, and I'm definitely not going to show you my knickers… so I have to perform this dare."

Adrien's tail started flapping left and right as Alya moved towards him, his ears flattened backwards, his claws went up in a defensive pose and a loud hiss came out of his throat. Alya stopped in her tracks, positively stunned.

"Did you just _hiss_ , Kittycat?" she mused. Adrien blushed but kept his defensive position.

"Yes, I think I did." He blushed again. "Sorry, but nobody touches my bell!" He watched as Alya put her phone back in record mode and started the recording by explaining what had just happened and how he hissed at her when she tried to touch his bell.

"Why all these touchy feelings about your bell now, Kittycat? You didn't seem that bothered about Marinette pulling your bell down trying to undress you earlier! I'm quite certain that your bell rang a few times, then!"

Adrien blushed furiously at the reminder. "It's just… the bell is… a symbol for me." He gazed at Alya who gave him a look of pure confusion. "It's a symbol of me finding a loving home." His face felt so hot that he was sure he had turned crimson. Or some other shade of purple. "My situation at home is not… ideal. I can't say any more to not jeopardise my identity. I want to have a loving family, one day."

"Awwwww," Alya purred. She gave him a knowing look and smiled softly. "That's so sweet, Kittycat. But I do need to do something, because as I said, I'm not undressing any more than this!" She tentatively crawled closer to him, but looked a bit concerned when she gingerly touched his bell. The hiss came back, loud and clear, as his hand hardened, claws showing defensively.

"Don't worry. I won't ring it if you don't want me to; I will just try to zip it down. Quietly!" She put her hand on the bell, holding it in a way that prevented it from making any sound. As she did that, Adrien felt again the sensation of something releasing from his chest. He breathed more calmly. Plagg was cooperating this time. She pulled the bell firmly and the zipper went down, revealing his bare chest.

"Your kwami is indeed in a funny mood today," Alya muttered in pure delight. Her hand moved up from the bell onto his bare skin, causing him again to shiver. And once again, he didn't like it at all. What was Alya playing at? He gave her a stern look and crossed his arms on his chest.

Alya smiled cunningly. "My turn now!" she exclaimed as if she was anticipating something fun. Adrien's heart raced faster. He knew, he just _knew_ that she was going to pick on him.

"Dare!" he said.

Alya laughed. "How did you know?" She laughed some more before frowning and starting to look at him intently. "Ok, I have it. Although it is a little embarrassing…" She blushed ever so slightly and giggled a bit more.

Adrien got worried. If Alya was embarrassed and blushing, the dare wasn't going to be something that his heart could take. Not at all. Even Marinette looked stunned.

"I dare you, Chat Noir…" She stopped dramatically as she laid down on her back, pinning on her elbows and forearms. She waited, surely to worry him some more. "I dare you to lick me on the stomach."

Adrien paled. Then he felt a rush of blood reaching his face as his heart pounded madly in his chest. "You dare me to do _what_?"

"You heard me, Kittycat. Lick me right here, on the stomach, or show your abs and do some fan service." She gestured to him to be quick. Adrien gulped twice.

"But… but I can't do that." Panic was slowly spreading from his gut to his brain. "What is Nino going to think?"

Alya's smile became more cunning, if possible. "Oh don't worry. I had Nino do much worse…"

Marinette was looking at Alya in pure and utter shock. "Alya. You're planning something, I feel it. You don't ask dares like these without having your own agenda."

"You know me well, Marinette. But worry not, you will know my plan very, very soon."

Adrien considered the idea of doing the dare. But the mere thought of licking Alya's stomach was making him extremely uncomfortable. He would never be able to face Nino the following day in school. However, he didn't want to give in so easily, because he had the suspicion that Alya had thrown this dare in because she wanted him to refuse.

Hence, he showed his best determined look and started crawling on all fours, in what he hoped was a sensual manner, towards Alya, who did look a bit concerned now. Sweet revenge… He moved closer and slowly positioned his face right on top of her stomach. He looked at her intently, noticing that her smile now looked forced and not any more cunning. He stared at her for a good couple of minutes, smiling his Cheshire grin and bringing his lips mere millimetres from her skin. Then, he sat up and said, "Nope. Not doing it!" He firmly put a hand on the collar of his suit and pulled it down, revealing his bare, muscular upper body.

"Hope you like what you're seeing." He said it in an amused tone of voice and raised an eyebrow in anticipation.

He quickly glanced at Marinette and saw her gaining a newly discovered shade of pink. Alya looked slightly flustered too, but her cunning smile was back.

"Uh. You worried me for a moment, Sneakycat! I'm proud of you!" Alya gave him a slap on the head and a triumphant look, which Marinette immediately eyed with concern.

Adrien pretended to ignore her teasing tone. "So you _are_ liking what you're seeing." He sniggered, as he started making bodybuilder poses to show off. "What about you, Marinette?" he asked teasingly, causing the shade of pink in Marinette's face to turn even darker.

" _P… Pawsome_ ," she said and gave him a little sly look. Uh… she was adorable when she used cat puns! He would never get enough of this sassy Marinette that he was discovering tonight as Chat Noir. Although… he couldn't help feeling uncomfortable and vulnerable without his suit. He looked longingly at the black garment hanging loosely at his waist. All that was left covering his upper body were his gloves.

Maybe refusing the dare hadn't been such a great idea. He should have licked Alya. She deserved it, after all...

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Hi there! Here we are with chapter 4. What do you think?**

**Thank you so much for all the comments, bookmarks and kudos. When I can't keep writing because of a little block or something, I always come back here and read the comments… and they give me the inspiration to continue. So please carry on giving me feedback! Can we get to 20 comments with this chapter? Pretty please? 8)**

**Again, thank you so much to my friends and betas Agrestebug and Speckleflower for their immense help and support. And to my friend Matteo "genxha" for all the lovely chats and his good advice.**

**I will update with chapter 5 soon!**

**Until then, please comment, comment and comment! Did I mention… comment?**

**Bug out!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A Daring Mother's Day - chapter 5**

**Written by: JuliaFC**

**Beta-read by: Agrestebug and Speckleflower. Thank you SO much! You're both the best! :)**

**Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by (c) Thomas Astruc, TS1 Bouygues, Disney Channel, Zagtoon, Toei Animation. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.**

oOo

The sudden sound coming from Marinette's trapdoor froze Adrien in his bodybuilder pose. He felt all the blood draining from his face as he eyed worriedly in that direction, but the trapdoor didn't open.

"Quick! Run upstairs!" Marinette hissed and he immediately obeyed, his heart pounding madly in his throat. Only when he was out of sight did Marinette open the lock on the trapdoor, and Sabine's face appeared, raising an eyebrow at Alya's bare bust.

"Is everything okay, girls?" Her gaze darted from her daughter to Alya, and then wandered around the room. "When did you install a lock to the trapdoor, Marinette?"

"Uh…" Marinette's voice was shaking. "A-after the time that J-jagged Stone came into my room and f-filmed all my stuff."

Sabine gasped. "Oh yes, I remember that incident. But why did you lock the trapdoor now? There's only you and Alya here." She paused for a moment. "By the way, that's a nice bra!"

Alya smiled nervously. "Thank you, Mrs Cheng. I was just showing it to Marinette before I changed into my pyjamas."

"Oh I see," Mrs Cheng said. Adrien had a feeling that she hadn't bought that at all; she was still looking around discreetly.

"We were getting changed, maman, and I didn't want papa to open the trapdoor and catch Alya like this," Marinette lied.

"You know that your father always warns you that he's coming up, when you have company," Mrs Cheng said. "But I will give you the benefit of the doubt."

Marinette looked tense from Adrien's hiding place on top of her bed. He could only see the back of her head and her shoulders, but she looked stiff. Alya's smile was also nervous.

He saw that Mrs Cheng was still looking around quite suspiciously and he wondered if she had heard him running upstairs. He seriously hoped that she didn't. He moved further up to the front of Marinette's bed and his gaze was met by at least twenty photos of his own smiling face. He looked at the pictures as if he was seeing them for the first time. Some had little hearts drawn on them. He scratched his head as he mused at how dense he could have been, to believe that she really had those pictures up only because she liked fashion. He sighed.

He heard Mrs Cheng's voice again and it brought him back to reality, his breath catching as he tried not to be heard. He dared moving forward to see what was going on down there. Mrs Cheng was still in the same spot, and she seemed to be still looking around the room as she spoke. Her eyes seemed to go upwards and then landed dangerously somewhere near him, and her gaze hardened, as if she had seen him. Adrien moved to the wall again, his heart skipping a beat in pure and utmost fear.

"We're going to bed, and wanted to know if there was anything that you needed from us, before we go," she was saying.

"No, we're good maman, really!" Marinette was even more tense now. Adrien dared peeking cautiously again.

Mrs Cheng locked her gaze into the gaze of her daughter for a long, long moment. "You know you can tell us anything, don't you Marinette? We're here for you no matter what."

"Yes I know, maman," she said. Her nervousness was evident from her tone of voice.

"And you know that you never have to lie to us, right?" Mrs Cheng continued.

"Never," Marinette whispered.

"I won't check this time, because I want to trust my daughter…" Her mother's gaze was as hard as a rock. "But next time I _may_ have the urge of getting something that you keep right on your bed, you know. Be warned!"

Adrien was terrified. He gulped a couple of times and hid his head underneath Marinette's cat pillow. But then he heard the trap door closing and steps coming up, and someone gave him a big slap on his bare shoulder.

"She's gone, Kittycat. And hiding your head wasn't going to make you invisible you know. Even my sisters have already discovered that!" He took his head out from underneath the pillow and glared at Alya, who was laughing at him.

"I didn't really have many other hiding places up here…" he retorted.

"Well, she's gone now, anyway. You can come down."

He looked at the trapdoor sheepishly. "Are you sure it's safe?"

"I just locked the trapdoor, " Marinette said from downstairs. "And my parents are going to bed now, papa wakes up very early and maman just slightly after him. They shouldn't come up again." She gestured for him to come down, which he did.

"I always thought you were very sincere, Marinette. It caught me by surprise to hear you lying," he couldn't help himself saying it as he sat down again in his spot.

Marinette blushed. "I don't like lying to my parents, Kitty. But it was either that or let them know that you were here, which would have created a bit of chaos because we hadn't been truthful earlier." She sighed and then shrugged. "So… I went along with it!"

Yes, he knew what she meant. Of course he knew by now, after all the lies he had to come up with since becoming Chat Noir, that sometimes it was impossible to tell the truth. And this felt indeed one of those times. Yet, the very thought that such an honest person, as Marinette was in his mind, could lie didn't sound right to him.

"So…" Alya's voice broke his thread of thought. "I think that you now have a duty to answer a truth question of mine."

Oh yes. The game… he had nearly forgotten about it. "Do you still want to carry on?" He couldn't help it, he pouted in disappointment.

"You bet I do!" Alya was beaming at his frustration. "I want to know your initials, Kittycat."

Adrien gulped and slumped over at her words. "My initials?"

"Yes, you know. My initials are AC, Marinette's ones are MDC. What are yours?" Alya had a sly look on her face.

"We said that identity reveal questions were out!" Marinette said in a hissing whisper.

"Oh please, Marinette!" Alya rolled her eyes. "His initials won't reveal his identity any more than asking him if he's allergic to feathers, which we already know is true, Kitty, don't you even try that!" she added quickly when she saw Adrien nodding several times.

"Ok… I will tell you," he said, faking defeat. Then he added solemnly, "My initials are… C and N!" He saw the amused gleam in Marinette's eyes and the outraged one in Alya's. He smiled his Cheshire grin.

"Come on, Kittycat, be serious. I'm not asking you if you live in a mansion, or if you go to school in a sedan, and not even whom you sit in front of in class all day! I'm asking you for your initials. There are bound to be thousands of teenagers with the same initials as you in Paris. How can this reveal your identity?"

Adrien heard her list of things she could have asked and started watching Marinette very carefully. Now he was 1000% sure that Alya knew who he was. But if she wasn't careful, she would give him away even to Marinette! He didn't want to take the risk.

"O...ok… I can give you _one_ of my initials… if you really need to know at this point…" he muttered the last bit under his breath. Then he gave her a sly look. "You will have to choose which one, since I have five!" He looked at Marinette and noticed that her frown had somehow deepened. "Well, six if you add my surname too…" He smiled nervously.

Alya looked at him in pure and utter triumph. She sat proudly, folded her arms across her chest, and showed him her happiest grin. "I can settle for the fifth one, Kittycat."

"Uh… the fifth one?" Adrien wondered why. "It's an A."

Alya rose her fist in the air and whispered a "yes!" under her breath. Then she crawled in front of him and whispered into his ear, "Checkmate!" She looked at the terror in his eyes and winked.

"What's going on?" Marinette asked suspiciously, as she looked between them.

Alya was gleaming. "Uh, nothing Marinette, we're good, aren't we, Kittycat?" Adrien nodded nervously and his gaze darted between Alya and Marinette.

He had to talk to Alya. He had to make sure that she wouldn't tell a soul that she knew. Hell, he had to talk to _Ladybug_. The mere thought of it terrified him. His days as the black cat may be over! Panic filled his chest as his ears went flat on his head and his tail twitched from left to right.

"You don't look right Kitty," mused Marinette. "What have you done to him, Alya? He looks… terrified." He saw Marinette frowning and then her gaze lifting to the ceiling. She put her hand to her chin and looked at him pointedly.

Damn. He could nearly see the gears in her brain turning. Marinette was a clever girl. "Yes, I'm purrfectly fine, purrincess!" He saw her groan and facepalm at the pun and breathed better.

"Actually, Marinette… I feel a bit hungry," Alya said. "Mr CAT-astrophy here has scoffed down three quarters of the treats you brought up as our dinner. Would you mind fetching a couple of sandwiches downstairs for me?" She gave him another slap on his shoulder. Ouch. He had to tell her that those slaps hurt!

Marinette sighed. "Even I feel a bit hungry, after all!" she muttered. Then, she raised an eyebrow at him and opened the trapdoor, disappearing quietly underneath it.

oOo

"My fifth name? Seriously?" Adrien asked as soon as he was sure that Marinette was no longer in hearing distance. "How do you even _know_ my fifth name?"

"It's a loooong story, Buttercup. It involves your fifth name's day celebration and a gift that Marinette never gave to you." Alya sighed. "That girl is hopeless."

" _Buttercup_?" He had to ask.

"That's another long story…" Alya sighed again.

Adrien groaned and put both hands in his hair. "One day you will have to delight me with all these long stories…" he mused.

"Of course, I see no problem with that." She winked again.

Adrien's face became really serious. "Alya… uh…" He glanced at her cautiously. "I don't know how to tell you this without sounding threatening but… don't say a word about my identity to anyone." He tried to put on the best kind of puppy eyes he could manage to make. "Please!"

Alya laughed softly. "Don't worry, I know better than revealing you on my Ladyblog, or to anybody else. Not even to Marinette. I know that your identity is a secret for a reason." He finally breathed and only then he realised that he had held his breath from the second he had said 'please'. "Seriously, Sunshine, who do you think I am?"

"Sorry," he muttered. "I had to make sure…" He sighed. "Even as it is, Ladybug will peel my skin off and give it to the birds, I know she will. I still don't understand how you started figuring me out initially!"

"You have a nervous tic, Sunshine," she said simply. "Every time you're nervous, you reach for the nape of your neck with your hand." His hand was already there… and he froze on the spot. "There, you see?" She smiled triumphantly. "After seeing your reaction to your first question, I started watching you and couldn't unsee it."

Shoot. He had never realised that he would be so easy to figure out.

"Your preoccupation for Nino was also quite weird for someone who didn't know him, especially the so-called 'flirt of Paris'," she continued.

"Why does everyone always think that I'm a flirt? I only ever flirt with Ladybug!" He groaned.

Alya eyed him funny and started counting with her fingers. "And with Reena Rouge," she said pulling down one finger, "And with Ryuko…" Another finger down.

Adrien groaned again and looked at his boots, admitting defeat. "How do you know that?" He snorted. "Can't keep anything from you, seriously. Nino is right!"

Alya smiled triumphantly. "A reporter has her ways!" Go figure. He rolled his eyes upwards as Alya continued, "Anyway, by the time you freaked out in front of your schedule, I was already 90% sure. Then you had the great idea of asking all those details and obviously you freaked out even more… which gave me 99% certainty. Your fifth name was the cherry on the cake."

Adrien sighed. "You haven't even asked why I was here. I thought that was going to be the question to worry about!"

"I don't think I need to ask that, Sunshine. Based on the question _you_ asked first, I have no doubts why you came here in the first place." He felt his cheeks burn. "But why as Chat Noir? Tonight would have looked very different had you shown up without your mask, you do realise it, don't you?"

His cheeks burned even more. There was no point in hiding the truth. "I-I… got confused," he said simply. "When I realised what I had done, it was too late and Marinette had already caught me on her balcony."

"You're a stupid sod…" Alya started laughing hysterically. Adrien's ears went flatter than ever on his head. But after a short fit of laughter, Alya's eyes became hard again and she looked at him with the most serious look he had ever seen on her. "On a different note, Sunshine, what are you going to do now?"

"What do you mean?" Adrien had a feeling he knew what she was asking.

"I don't think you need more confirmation that the girl downstairs is head over heels in love with you. Or do you need a more detailed map? With an X in the centre?" She made the sign of an X right in front of his nose.

Adrien glared at her. "I'm not as dense as you think I am!" He snorted. And he snorted again when he saw the unbelieving look that Alya shot at him. "Truth is… I don't know." He sighed. "I'm confused. Tonight was… intense. I'm in total overload. I have to think about what I'm going to do."

"So… the girl you love… is _Ladybug_?" Alya asked, still holding his gaze with her serious one. He nodded. "What about Kagami?"

Adrien sighed. "Kagami told me once that I should change targets. Ladybug had rejected me so many times and I knew that Kagami really liked me, so I thought of giving her a shot. But… it never went anywhere."

He noticed that Alya released a big breath after hearing that. Was she relieved? "I will have to talk to her though," he added. "I know that she thinks differently."

"You better get your act together quickly, Sunshine child," Alya warned him. "You know… that girl downstairs is the purest soul on Earth, and my best friend. I won't allow you to hurt her, not now that you know."

Adrien's ears went even flatter, if possible. "I don't want to hurt her either, Alya. She's…"

"Don't you dare say, 'she's my friend', or I will shoot you dead, right here, right now!" Alya pointed a finger at his bare chest and glared at him. His hand reached the nape of his neck again as he smiled nervously.

"Uh… well… I wasn't going to say that, I promise!"

Alya looked at him suspiciously. "What exactly were you going to say then?"

"That she's amazing!" His eyes became all dreamy again, as he pinned his elbows on his knees and rested his chin on the palms of his hands. "I couldn't believe it when she said that she loved me. I've been... for months... thinking that she barely tolerated me or that she hated me for some reason!" He looked at his boots, feeling unable to cross Alya's stern gaze. "I believed her when she told me that she had my pictures up only because she liked fashion."

"Ok, this is all very nice and very interesting, Sunshine. But the bottom line is… you need to think very carefully about what you are going to do tomorrow. Because my girl's heart would break in a million pieces if you mess this up. And believe me, you don't want her heart to break. I still have very embarrassing pictures and videos of Chat Noir and a beautiful interview to put on my blog… you don't want to anger me, Kittycat." Her stern look turned cunning. "Especially the footage of your kiss, that came up _really_ well… and it wasn't a 'just a friend' kiss either!"

Adrien gulped. "No, I give you that. I still can't get over that kiss." His expression went all dreamy again, as his mind went back to the emotions he felt a bit earlier. "Oh and… thank you!" he felt blood rushing to his cheeks; he couldn't believe he said that.

Alya beamed. "You are welcome," she sniggered.

Adrien sighed and started putting the top of his suit back on. "I think it's time for me to go back home," he mused as he zipped the top up. "I have to call Ladybug and t-tell her what happened tonight. I admit that I'm terrified she will take away my ring."

"No! She can't do that!" Alya sounded rather shaken.

"She could. She's the new guardian and has always told me that I must be careful and never reveal my identity to anyone." He sighed. "She may not be happy to know that _you_ found out!"

"Do you _have_ to tell her?" Alya asked in shock.

Adrien sighed. "I don't lie to m'lady, Alya. I never have, and never will." He sighed again. Then he noticed that Alya was looking at him sheepishly, as if she felt guilty. "It's my fault, not yours, that it came out. Don't worry. But… you better publish that interview soon, or it may become an interview with the 'ex' Chat Noir…"

Alya gave him another slap on his shoulder and laughed at his glare.

"That hurt." He glared at her again.

"Are you a superhero or a super wimp?" Alya laughed again. "Go talk to Ladybug, Sunshine. I'm sure it won't be as bad as you picture it in your head." Then she looked at him sternly again. "But after you've done it, try to make a bit of clarity in this chaos you put yourself into, and surprise me tomorrow morning, please. That girl deserves it."

Adrien climbed up the ladder of Marinette's room and jumped out of the skylight door. "I will," he said before disappearing into the night.

oOo

Marinette walked down the stairs that led out of her room, and then tiptoed her way towards the kitchen. Not only was the latch of the trapdoor now open, and she didn't want her parents to wake up and decide to take a peek, but she knew they needed to get up early in the morning and didn't think it was fair to wake them up.

As she reached the kitchen, she saw a little red creature appearing behind her, and smiled. "I was wondering when you would show up, Tikki!"

The red kwami smiled. "I was right behind you!" she admitted, looking at Marinette who was staring into nothing, her hand resting on the fridge handle. "How are you feeling, Marinette? After… all of that?"

"I'm OK," she lied, but Tikki's stern gaze revealed to her that the kwami wasn't going to be fooled. "All right, I'm not." She sighed. "I didn't expect any of it, Tikki."

"Chat Noir has shown his true feelings quite blatantly over there," Tikki pointed out. "And I don't know about you, Marinette, but I _really_ liked what I saw, and heard."

Marinette sighed. "Yes, me too." She sighed again. "What he said about Ladybug… I didn't expect half of it. It was really sweet. I mean," she mused as her cheeks turned pink, "I knew that he was in love with me but… I had always thought that…" She couldn't finish what she wanted to say. Her heart was still pounding madly and had been doing so for a very long time.

"You thought that he loved the perfect and brave superheroine. You thought he loved your spots," Tikki finished simply. Marinette squeezed her eyes shut; she could feel the tears sneaking out from the corner of her eyes as she gulped a couple of times in a failed attempt to release the pressure she felt in her throat.

"Tikki…" Her voice sounded groggy. "Can you feel the butterflies in your stomach when you kiss a friend?" She opened her eyes and saw that the little kwami was floating in front of her nose, her soft and wise gaze locking into hers.

"I don't personally know, Marinette." She kept looking at her pointedly. "But I have lived millions of years and I have had conversations like this with many, many Ladybugs before you." She breathed solemnly. "Human nature is very complicated, and as a kwami I don't grasp it completely. But one thing I can tell you for sure. Sometimes your _body_ knows what your mind tries to hide. I have seen it happening over, and over, and over again."

"What do you mean?" Marinette lied, as her heart had sunk when Tikki had said what she just said. She knew what her little red friend was implying, deep down.

Tikki sighed and stroked gently her right cheek. "Listen to your heart, Marinette." She saw the first tears streaming out of her eyes down her cheeks and wiped those that came closer to her. "What did you feel when he kissed you?"

"I can't express it with words, Tikki. I was… overwhelmed." She opened the fridge and picked up some stuff automatically, but her mind wasn't there. She wasn't even looking at what she was taking.

"Are you really going to make sandwiches with that…?" Tikki mused, and only then did Marinette look at what she had picked up. Ugh… no, Alya wouldn't have liked lemon, or a raw egg, in her sandwich. She cringed and quickly put those back where they were. She paid attention and grabbed cheese and ham, this time.

"No, you're right, Tikki." She stared at the content of the fridge for some time, until a beep brought her back to reality. She closed the fridge's door, still unable to put into words the tumultuous emotions she was still feeling deep in her gut, as she thought back to that kiss.

"You _did_ kiss Chat Noir before," Tikki tried.

"That was… different." She thought back to the only kiss she remembered exchanging with Chat Noir before. The second one didn't count, because she couldn't remember it at all. "Dark Cupid had taken control over him, he was trying to kill me and wasn't himself." She put a hand over her mouth and was quiet for a while.

Yes, that time she had been so preoccupied with the battle, and with 'saving' Chat Noir, that the reality of what had happened hadn't really hit her. She suspected that the adrenaline rushing through her in the heat of the battle had also something to do with it. But this time, there was nothing like that. This time it hit her like a block of cement over her head, and she couldn't deny that it had left her in a very precarious emotional state. And then… she'd had the great idea of asking him why he loved her and _everything_ , what he said, how he said it, his dreamy expression, the serious look on his face when he told her to never say that she was a nobody in his presence again… his remark about the gift…

"His remark about my gift for Adrien!" The thought hit her in the stomach like a well aimed punch. Her eyes became as wide as saucers. "Those words…" Her mouth became very dry. "I… _I_ said those very words," she said, her voice shaking in surprise. "T-to…" She gasped. "It can't be!" She looked at Tikki, who looked back at her in an indecipherable way, but she had a sparkle in her eyes that Marinette chose to ignore. "Tikki! It can't be! I had said those words to... _Adrien_!"

_'Once someone told me…' he had said._

_Someone…_ told him… how could someone tell him the exact same words she had said to Adrien? There had to be a rational reason for this. "Does Chat Noir… _know_ Adrien maybe?"

The sparkle in Tikki's eyes suddenly disappeared. "If _that's_ what you think…" she said blankly.

"What other reason could there be?" Marinette put her hands to her head. "This is a disaster, Tikki!" She hissed in a panic frenzy. "Chat Noir said that he's into fashion. Probably he does know Adrien!" She moved her head mere millimetres from the small kwami's face, her eyes as wide as saucers. "He's seen my _schedule_ , Tikki! He freaked out big time! What if he's going to tell Adrien that I'm a psychopath that has hacked Nathalie's tablet? _My life is over!_ " She started crying desperately.

The little kwami started stroking her head. "Now, now, Marinette. Please calm down! Do you really think that Chat Noir would do that?" She was whispering into her ear. "He told you that you're a wonderful girl, and he said that _after_ having seen Adrien's schedule. Why would he go and tell Adrien something that can embarrass you like this?" The little kwami was stroking her hair ever so softly. "And besides… you didn't say those words to Adrien, Marinette. Your memory is failing you. You said those words to _me_!"

Marinette gasped. She opened her eyes wide and thought carefully back at her last birthday, when Adrien had given her the lucky charm that he had made for her. She played the memory back and forth in her head and then she looked at Tikki. "You… You're right, Tikki! I didn't say those words to Adrien, but to you! Oh thank you thank you thank you, Tikki!" She brought the little kwami close to her face. "That means that someone else must have said those same words to Chat Noir…" She sighed in relief and finally moved towards the kitchen table and put the ham and the cheese down.

"And besides, Adrien… he's with Kagami now, isn't he? He told me quite clearly that he's in love with a girl. And that girl must be Kagami." She breathed heavily as she reached for a baguette and picked up a knife in the cutlery drawer, cutting the long baguette in half, and then slicing that half into two parts. She prepared a few different sandwiches, ham and cheese; tuna; lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese; and cheese and bacon. Then she scrutinised her work and decided that it looked acceptable.

"Going back to your previous question, Tikki…" she whispered, trying to find the right words to express what she wanted to say, and not really sure if she had the courage to say it loud. "It was like… as if a whole kilowatt of electricity had run through my very being."

She closed her eyes and started shaking at the mere recollection of it. "Then the butterflies hit my stomach and then…" She felt blood rushing to her cheeks as she opened her eyes and lowered her gaze. She couldn't meet Tikki's eyes. She wasn't ready for it. "Then he… p-put his t-tongue in m-my mouth…" She heard Tikki gasp and her eyes automatically searched for her friend. But she wished she hadn't done it because the sparkle in Tikki's eyes was back and Marinette felt really hot.

"And?" Tikki inquired.

Marinette tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come out. She breathed and tried to speak again, but she failed to utter a word once more. "I don't know," she eventually managed to say. "I felt… as if a lightning bolt had hit me, from the inside. And…" She knew she had turned crimson.

"And…?" Tikki tried.

"I didn't want him to stop." Marinette cupped her hands on her face and stayed still for a very long moment. Admitting it to Tikki had made it more real. Too real. There was no escaping from it now. "My legs were like jelly when he parted from me, Tikki. I felt lightheaded! I couldn't stop thinking about it…"

"Sounds like you _really_ liked it, Marinette!" The kwami spoke softly, but the seriousness and tenderness in her eyes told Marinette that Tikki was reading her like an open book.

She nodded. She couldn't say it with words. She didn't just like it. She loved it. She had been unable to think of much more since then. And the worst thing was… that she wanted more. But she knew it wasn't going to happen, it _couldn't_ happen. And that knowledge was killing her inside.

She breathed deeply as she finally removed her hands from her face and picked up a tray from a press, covered it with a clean sheet of baking paper and started filling it with her sandwiches. Then she picked up a few paper napkins and held the tray, walking back to her room thoughtfully.

When she emerged from her trapdoor, she saw that Alya had put her pyjamas on and was brushing her teeth. Marinette put the tray down and looked around the room.

"Mhmhmh…." muttered Alya. Then she went to Marinette's sink, spit the toothpaste out and looked at her again. "I mean, he went." She started rinsing her mouth with water.

Marinette felt a pang of disappointment. "Oh," she said, trying to hide it.

"He said that he had to talk to Ladybug about something very important," Alya said simply.

She had no idea of the rush of emotions that those very words unleashed in Marinette. Why did Chat want to talk to her? What happened? Had he figured her out? Something that he had said earlier started to resound in her head worryingly. He had said that if he'd seen her as a civilian, he may recognise how amazing she was. And his words he had said when he had tried to encourage her. The way he had looked at her…

Marinette felt all blood draining from her face at once. Had Chat Noir understood that she was Ladybug? Oh no! That was another disaster!

"Are you okay, Marinette?" Alya asked when she had spit out her mouthwash. "What's wrong with you, girl? Have you seen a ghost?"

Alya's words brought her back to reality. "I'm OK. Really, I am," she lied. "I'm just… tired. It was an eventful evening."

"Oh yes," Alya agreed. "Eventful indeed! I will have to come up with a good introduction for my interview with Chat Noir in the Ladyblog!"

Marinette looked at her pointedly. "Do you really want to publish that interview?"

"You bet I do!" Alya winked at her. "And I will. No way will I let it go. And I think I just got the right idea of how to start it!" She beamed and smiled at Marinette, but then yawned and stretched tiredly. "But I will write it tomorrow. It's all here in my head, and in my phone anyway!" She pointed at her head and sat down in front of Marinette's sandwiches, picked a tuna filled one and started eating it.

"Didn't you just brush your teeth?" Marinette had to ask.

Alya ate the last bite of her sandwich and picked another one up. "I will brush them again. You were taking so long downstairs that I thought you may have fallen asleep. I was getting ready for bed, convinced I had to keep my hunger."

Marinette felt terrible. Talking to Tikki had taken some time. "Sorry, Alya! I was… a bit confused…"

"Bet I know what you were confused about!" Alya sniggered evilly and messed with her phone. When she turned the screen towards Marinette, her heart stopped. Chat Noir was kissing her. Blood rushed straight to her face again.

"ALYA! YOU WILL GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK!" she shouted, but it didn't stop Alya from showing her the whole video again.

She facepalmed. It was going to be a long night…

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Hello there! Here we are, the cat is out of the bag. And now Adrien is really, really worried. And overwhelmed. What do you think will happen next? I hope you liked the different point of view and the interaction between the characters. Let me know your thoughts ;)**

**Thanks for all the comments, kudos and bookmarks!** **I should be able to post chapter 6 in the next few days! So keep following and thank you!**

**Bug out!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A Daring Mother's Day - chapter 6**

**Written by: JuliaFC**

**Beta-read by: Agrestebug and Speckleflower. Thank you SO much! You're both the best! :)**

**Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by (c) Thomas Astruc, TS1 Bouygues, Disney Channel, Zagtoon, Toei Animation. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.**

oOo

It didn't take too long for Adrien to reach the mansion. He landed in the middle of his room with a loud 'thump', resting there for a long moment in a crouched position before muttering "Claws in." He stood up, watching as Plagg appeared out of the ring.

"At last!" the black kwami exclaimed. "I hate transforming!" He flew graciously but hastily towards the press that contained his cheese, and emerged a few seconds later holding a slice of camembert in each paw. He scoffed one down in just a few bites, and then started slowly savouring the other one.

Adrien mechanically made his way over to his bed, literally sinking on the edge. He held his head with his hands, staring blankly into nothing.

"You're not going to really dump all my stash, are you kid?" Plagg asked in what Adrien recognised to be a worried tone of voice.

He smiled softly and took his hands off his head, lowering them down to his knees. He looked at the black kwami. "Actually, I was thinking about it, Plagg."

"YOU WOULDN'T DO THAT TO ME FOR REAL!" Plagg panicked big time. He flew back in front of his press and turned around, protecting it with his small body. "I won't be able to survive without my Gooiness!"

"Plagg…" started Adrien.

"Honestly, kid. I've done you a favour, don't you realise that yourself? You can't be that cruel!"

"Plagg…" Adrien said again.

"Don't 'Plagg' me, mister. I won't stop until I don't get 1000% confirmation that my cheese won't be harmed."

"PLAGG!" Adrien yelled. "Will you shut up and listen to me?" Finally the tiny creature stopped fretting and looked at him with his sparkling emerald eyes. "Is there any special type of camembert that you have always wanted to taste? Tell me if there is. I'll get you anything." He laughed softly at the surprised look in the kwami's face.

"Oh…" Plagg muttered.

Adrien gleamed at him. "Don't tell me that for once I managed to leave you speechless," he teased. The kwami looked at him solemnly and flew towards his face.

"What are you going to do now?" he asked then. "I mean… tonight was a big eye opener for you."

Adrien sighed. "Ha. That's an understatement for sure." He fell silent. Truth was… he had no idea what to do. It took him a long time before he was able to speak again. The turmoil of emotions that were running through his core was too strong for him to put it into words. "A part of me wants to get into bed and just hide… Marinette is scary somehow. But so sweet at the same time. I'm… gobsmacked with what I found out today. I still can't quite believe it."

"And there's also that other girl, the reporter." Plagg sighed. "Congratulations on getting your identity revealed to the one person it should never have gotten revealed to!"

"Oh shut up!" Adrien snorted. "I don't know why, but I trust Alya. She won't give me away. My problem now is… how to put it across to m'lady. And what to do with Marinette… and Kagami!"

Plagg disappeared into his press and came out with two more slices of cheese. "That's why I prefer dealing with cheese, kid. Much less complicated!" Adrien snorted and wanted to retort something, but Plagg quickly continued. "The two girls are like these two slices of cheese. One has been seasoned for ninety days and smells of gooey heaven, the other one is much more mild and bland. They both look the same… but it's when you taste them that you really feel the difference." He scoffed one down, and went to put the other one away before emerging again from his personal cheese stash and looked at him, a serious gleam in his emerald eyes. "You had a chance to taste both, kid. What did your taste buds tell you?"

Adrien sighed. As weird as the simile was, he had to admit that it was quite fitting. "There's no comparison, Plagg, and I know you know what I mean."

"Yes. I felt your emotions kid. And that was some kiss." Plagg sighed. "I'm a _kwami_ , Adrien. I don't understand much of human emotions. But there is something that living millions of years has certainly taught me." He looked at him solemnly. "You should always settle for the tastiest slice of cheese." Adrien groaned. When was Plagg going to stop talking about cheese? "Seriously kid. I've had similar conversations with many, many of my kittens in the thousands of years that the miraculous was around. Your head might not know, your eyes may be deceived. But your taste buds kid… your gut, your heart… whatever you want to call it… that's always _spot-on_!" The kwami smiled proudly, probably pleased with himself. "Listen to your heart."

"When I kissed Kagami…" Adrien started.

"You hated it," the kwami interrupted him.

Adrien sighed. "I felt nothing. I mean… I did feel something…"

"Yeah. A pang of disappointment…" Plagg stated, and gave him a funny look. "You were rambling about it for hours after that. Don't tell me you forgot about it…"

Adrien shook his head. "I felt sorry for Kagami. I tried my best to hide it but I know she understood that something was wrong." He sighed. "That kiss was nothing that I had expected it to be, and I know that she really wanted it to be different."

"She loves you…" Plagg stated simply and shrugged. "But you love Pigtails."

Adrien sighed. Marinette's face filled his vision and overwhelmed his heart, the blue of her eyes drawing him in to their endless depths. He knew he'd be able to drown forever in those eyes, especially after the way they so easily pierced his soul after that kiss. He sighed again, heavier, as the rolling current of emotions threatened to consume him.

He couldn't deny it anymore, "Yes." He ran his hands through his hair, shaking it around roughly while Plagg smirked above him. "But I love _m'lady_. So… if you say that I should listen to my gut, why is my gut pushing me towards… _Marinette_?" He looked at the kwami again, desperate to get an answer, any kind of answer. "That kiss was… everything I have ever dreamed of!"

He let his senses run back to the moment he kissed Marinette and closed his eyes to savour the explosion of emotions that the mere recollection of it was giving him. His entire being throbbed at the memory, starting from his gut. "If I love Ladybug, Plagg, why is my heart so confused when it comes to Marinette?"

Plagg sighed. "That's something you need to figure out yourself." The kwami's ears went flat on his head. "I'm a kwami, I know nothing about the human heart!" He rolled his emerald eyes as he continued, "But maybe you should listen to your gut… and start questioning which set of pigtails is really holding that heart of yours." He then muttered something else that Adrien couldn't make out.

"What did you say?" He asked.

"I can't tell you," Plagg retorted. "But remember what you promised to reporter-girl."

Adrien gasped. "Yes, I know. And I wasn't lying when I told her that." He fell silent as he considered his options carefully. He had a feeling of what he wanted to do and say when he was going to see Marinette at school the next morning. But in order to do that, he had to cut all loose ends. That was going to be the difficult bit, but he had no choice. He didn't feel right at doing what he was thinking of doing otherwise.

"I need to talk to Kagami, and to Ladybug. And then, I will be able to thank Marinette as she deserves, tomorrow." He looked longingly at his pillow, wishing he could just lay down and close his eyes until next morning, but then hardened his gaze and reached for his phone in his pocket. Only 11 pm, wow, he thought it was later than that!

"What are you doing?" Inquired Plagg.

"Texting the wrong target," he said. Plagg flew near his shoulder and peeked at what he was writing as he hit 'send'.

**[Hey, Kag, are you awake?]**

"Oh. Isn't it a bit late?" Plagg asked, but the phone beeped almost instantly. Kagami was awake.

**[Only just. How are you? I was worried all weekend. You looked very down on Friday.]**

**[I'm OK, thanks. Feeling better now. Listen… I need to talk to you, Kag. It's very important.]**

**[I will see you at fencing tomorrow afternoon!]**

**[No, I need to talk to you earlier than that.]**

**[Do you want to start a video chat? You can see my new pyjamas, they came straight from Japan on Friday!]**

Adrien smiled softly.

**[The Bleach ones we spoke about two weeks ago?]**

**[Yes. Wanna see?]**

He sighed. As much as the idea of seeing that particular pyjamas set was compelling, he didn't want to talk to her like that.

**[No, Kag. This is serious. I need to talk to you face to face. Before school tomorrow?]**

**[Oh… OK. I will be in front of your gate at 7. Wait for me outside.]**

**[Thanks, Kag. See you then.]**

**[Amai yume no hachimitsu!]**

**[Yes, sweet dreams!]**

Adrien smiled softly at her message in Japanese. Kagami only ever wrote in Japanese when she was nervous. The cards were on the table now, there was no coming back. He sighed heavily and looked at his little kwami friend, trying to find the courage to take the next step.

"That is done. Now… the even trickier bit. Plagg, claws out." This time, he didn't eagerly welcome the wildness of the black cat strengthening his senses. He'd much rather keep his sensations numb, but had no choice. He stood up from his bed and started pacing the room nervously as he picked up his baton from the fold at his back and opened the communicator, the tip of his tail twitching left and right.

He didn't know why he was so nervous. Ladybug probably wasn't even transformed. But there was a chance she may be… and the mere thought of what he needed to tell her was butchering his insides.

He called Ladybug before he could psyche himself out. The first ring sounded, his heart pounding madly in his chest. The second ring sounded, and his breath stopped as he squeezed his eyes shut in anticipation. Her voicemail picked up, and he let out the breath threatening to suffocate him.

"Claws in," he whispered. "I will try again later." He crashed heavily on his bed, face down. He was exhausted.

oOo

Marinette carefully watched Alya's regular breathing in bed. Finally her friend had fallen asleep… it was already 11.30 at night and Marinette couldn't sleep a wink.

Not only had Alya delighted her with at least forty viewings of her kiss with Chat Noir, which hit her like a bolt of lightning to her insides every time. She mercilessly kept talking about what she wanted to write in her interview; she replayed, way too many times, the words Chat had said about Ladybug. In short... Alya had managed to relentlessly grind every single word that her Kitty had said permanently into her memory. Not that Marinette needed any reminders… she still couldn't quite come to terms with the emotions that she had felt the first time she heard them.

But now that Alya was sleeping at last, she enjoyed a couple of minutes of peace and silence. She checked to make sure Alya was still deeply asleep before she quietly made her way down from her bed's mezzanine. She tiptoed across the room, and then down the stairs of her trapdoor, heading to her family's bathroom. She looked around left and right and went in, locking the door.

Tikki immediately came out from behind her pigtails. "Spots on," Marinette called quietly, and the little kwami disappeared into her earrings, while in a flash of light, Ladybug appeared in Marinette's place. Her hand dashed to her Bugphone and she noticed a missed call.

Shoot. Chat had already tried to call her, and only a few minutes before.

She tried to call him back, but his phone went straight into voicemail. She sighed, thinking about leaving a message, but a gentle knock at the door stopped her in her tracks. She hung up the Bugphone and whispered, "spots off." When she opened the door, her mother was looking at her with sleepy eyes.

"Are you okay, Marinette?" she asked.

She nodded. "Yes maman, sorry!" She tiptoed her way back to her room to lay down again in bed, but Alya had changed position and was now spread over three quarters of her bed. Great! So much for comfort. She squeezed into the only available space and waited quietly.

"Will you try again?" Tikki whispered in her ear.

"Of course, Tikki. I need to know why Chat wants to talk to me." She sighed heavily and then continued, her throat clenching in worry. "Do you think that he figured out who I am?" she finally asked with a shaky whisper.

"I don't know, but somehow I don't think so," whispered back the red kwami. "If he did, he would have found an excuse to come to the kitchen and talk to you directly, don't you think?"

Marinette widened her eyes. "You have a point, Tikki. He wouldn't be trying to contact me through the Bugphone, knowing that it doesn't work if I'm not transformed." She gazed blankly at the darkness in front of her eyes for a long moment. "What do you think is wrong then?"

"I don't know, but he's calling you again!" Tikki whispered excitedly. Marinette tiptoed her way downstairs from the mezzanine and hid underneath it, sitting on her desk chair.

"Spots on," she whispered but when she picked up her Bugphone, Chat had hung up already. She cautiously peeked downstairs and saw that the door of the bathroom was open, but nobody seemed to be around. She risked it and tiptoed her way to the bathroom without dropping her transformation. Just in case Chat would call back, so she could take the call.

She locked herself in the bathroom and tried to call again. His phone went back to his voicemail. She hung up and sighed once more. "Spots off," she muttered and looked at her red kwami friend in utter disappointment. "This is ridiculous," she mused.

"Yes, it's a bit awkward," admitted Tikki. "It doesn't help that Alya's here, because otherwise you could have stayed in your room and waited for the phone call with your spots on."

Marinette sat on the toilet seat, resting her chin on her hands, ger elbows pinned on her knees. "This is going to be a long night," she said. "Will you tell me if he calls again?"

"Of course," Tikki said with a small smile.

oOo

Adrien sighed in utter frustration. It was half past one in the morning and he had transformed on and off at least twenty times trying to get in touch with Ladybug. Every time that Plagg told him that she was calling and he transformed back, her Bugphone was going into voicemail.

He had tried every single strategy he could think of. He had waited a long time before dropping his transformation after calling her, trying to keep awake by pacing nervously in his room with his communicator in his hands; he had left her a quick message telling her that he would call her at a precise time; once he had missed her for just a handful of seconds. It was the most annoying game of phone tag he had ever experienced. He seemed to be destined to not talk to her directly tonight.

"Claws in," he whispered.

Plagg appeared again and crashed on the bed next to him theatrically. "I hate transforming!" he muttered. "Why d'you keep changing in and out of your suit?"

"In case I fall asleep, Plagg. If Nathalie comes in tomorrow morning and finds Chat Noir in place of me, I don't think she would be thrilled," Adrien said simply.

"Why don't you just put an alarm on?" the black kwami moaned.

Adrien shushed him. "Too risky. If I don't hear it, I'm in trouble."

Plagg sighed. "Pigtails has again tried to call you, just seconds ago."

"Claws out!" Adrien whispered, but again the phone went to voicemail. He huffed in disappointment and waited another few minutes, staring in an almost hypnotic daze at the beeping dots on his phone's alarm, which showed the seconds running by. When he saw that no call was being returned even after fifteen minutes of him waiting, he finally admitted defeat. "Claws in," he called.

Plagg crashed again onto his bed. "Cornish Truffle, kid." Adrien gave him a questioning look. "That's the cheese you can get me. I won't settle for anything less."

Adrien nodded. "I will order it when I get back from school."

The black kwami floated right in front of his eyes. "Kid, listen… fair enough you want to talk to Pigtails. But have you decided what you're gonna say to her?"

"To be honest, Plagg, no I haven't." He gave the kwami a sheepish look. "Here I am, trying to call her and catch her transformed but… hoping to not catch her transformed and keep hold of my ring one day longer."

Plagg rolled his eyes. "Reporter-girl is right, Adrien. You worry too much."

"Somehow I don't think so," he whispered. "She's so keen in keeping our identities a secret, Plagg. And I know she's right in what she says. I didn't think that I would have been so easy to figure out." He sighed deeply.

"And tomorrow? What will you say to Fencer-lady and to Baker-girl?"

"Not a clue," Adrien admitted. "I am hopeless, aren't I?" Adrien stood up and went to his wardrobe. He picked up the scarf he had just learned was a gift from Marinette, and walked back to his bed holding it and staring at it longingly.

"Not from your father, huh?" stated Plagg.

Adrien sat at the side of his bed, began undressing himself and then grabbed the ladybug t-shirt and shorts that he usually wore as his pyjamas. He stared at them for a long time, but then decided that he didn't want to wear them tonight. He stood up and walked again towards his wardrobe, scanning the bed clothes that were collecting dust in there.

After a little research, he found a top coloured in a soft shade of pink, but he couldn't find any matching bottoms.. He smiled, as he didn't quite remember having this top at all, but it felt rather appropriate for the mood he was in tonight. He put it on quickly, and then wore his Ladybug shorts underneath it.

"You know, kid," stated Plagg blankly. "For being the son of a famous fashion designer, you have no sense of how colours match together!"

Adrien pouted at him. "It's only pyjamas," he said. "I didn't feel like wearing the Ladybug one tonight. This feels more… comfortable." He looked at the pink shaded top softly and smiled, before returning to his bed and crashing on it again. He put the scarf tenderly under his head, placing a kiss on the soft fabric. He was feeling a bit more content with the mere contact with something that Marinette had spent such a long time making by hand, only for him.

"Mother was right," he muttered as he stroked the scarf softly and yawned. "The person who gives you a gift makes all the difference in the world."

He saw Plagg giving him a sad look, his ears flat on his head and his tail flapping left to right and back. Plagg was feeling sorry for him, he knew he was.

"Will you tell me if Bugaboo calls me again?" he muttered sleepily. He took an extra few minutes to set his alarm on for six in the morning.

Plagg gave him a soft pat on the head. "I will, kid."

oOo

The sound of the alarm shook him out of his sleep like a slap in the face. He opened his eyes wide and felt the resistance coming from his heavy eyelids. He was lucky he didn't have a photoshoot today, or the makeup artist wouldn't have been happy with him at all.

He scanned the linen at the top of his mattress near his pillow with his eyes barely open, searching hastily with his hand and snoozed the alarm of his phone. _Another five minutes…_ he thought tiredly. Then, his hand touched the soft fabric spread at the top of his pillow, and the events of the night before rushed back to his mind.

Shoot! Kagami was going to wait for him in less than an hour outside the mansion. He didn't have the time to snooze his alarm.

He jumped out of bed and lovingly folded the blue scarf that had been his pillow last night, putting it back near his clothes for the day. Then, he walked mechanically towards the bathroom, had a look at his face and cringed.

The puffiness and the swelling due to his tears had gone, but the black marks that had replaced them didn't look any prettier. He shouldn't have gone to sleep after 2 in the morning last night. He took a quick shower and brushed his teeth. Then he searched tiredly inside the presses and cabinets of his bathroom until he found an eye mask similar to the one that Marinette had given him the night before, which he proceeded to put on his face, right under his eyes. He didn't have much hope that it would make a miracle, but it may help a little.

He was still wearing the eye mask when he started styling his hair - admittedly, the longest part of his morning routine. But he couldn't go around with Chat Noir hair, or Alya wouldn't have been the only one to figure him out. And the way his hair looked now was way too similar to that of the hero in black.

When he finished taming his naturally wild bed-hair and looked at his watch, he realised that it was ten to seven. He quickly put on his clothes, socks and shoes. _No time for breakfast, I have to talk to Kagami first_ , he thought as he marched out of his room and down the elegant staircase to the marble adorned hallway.

"Good morning, Adrien. Are you setting up a new fashion trend?" came Nathalie's amused voice when she saw his face. He gave her a puzzled look and she pointed at underneath her eyelids, right on her cheekbones.

Oh yes, the eye mask. He had nearly forgotten. He peeled it off and handed it to the hand that Nathalie had stretched out to him. "Breakfast is ready," she stated.

"I will be there in a minute," Adrien replied. "Kagami is waiting for me at the front gate. I won't be too long."

Nathalie gave him a stern look. "As long as you won't be late for school."

Adrien nodded and walked quickly out of the door.

Sure enough, Kagami's red car was already waiting. As he pressed the call button to open the gate, the car's back door opened and Kagami's smiling face greeted him. She gestured for him to come inside, which he immediately did. When the door slammed shut however, and he met Kagami's genuinely worried eyes, his mouth became very dry. He gulped awkwardly.

"What happened to your face?" she asked abruptly.

"I had a rough weekend, but I feel better now," he admitted, but her stern look didn't soften and he sighed. "Not really, but I will survive Kag."

The silence seemed deafening. Only the low noise of the car engine broke the quietness. It was nearly unnatural.

"You told me you had something important to tell me face to face," she eventually said. "So say it." She looked at him with her beautiful amber eyes, so different from those of Marinette. Or of his Lady. He sighed painfully. Different, but not at all less beautiful and deep. And truthful.

"I did," he started. He looked at her for a long moment, his gaze locking into hers. He could see the slight sign of dark marks under her own eyes, and the detail gave him a lot to think about. She also hadn't slept last night. She knew what was coming, he realised. She was too clever not to.

"So?" She pushed. "Adrien, your hesitation is hurtful. And is wasting my time. Whatever you need to say, please say it. Now." The shadow of a tear that he saw pricking out of the corner of her eyes made him feel horrible.

"I…" He couldn't make himself say it. It was as if something had taken firm hold of his throat and wouldn't let go. "Please…" he eventually managed to say. "Please, let me go." He heard her gasp and her tears suddenly multiplied, streaming out of her eyes down her cheeks.

"Why?" Came her hoarse reply.

He moved his hand to grab hers, but she slapped it and pushed it away. "Kagami, I'm sorry. It's my fault," he admitted. "You don't deserve this."

"I don't understand. We are meant for each other. We're so similar, so well balanced." She looked at him with eyes full of tears. Every sob he perceived was a painful stab in his back.

"I do enjoy your company, Kag, and I would like to stay your friend. Only..." He lowered his gaze. "I can't be with you that way."

"You still haven't said why." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

"What did you feel when you kissed me?" he eventually asked, after having thought about it for a long time. Her eyes widened at such a bold question coming from the usually carefully spoken blonde. "Did you feel like a lightning bolt had struck your very being? Did you feel butterflies in your stomach? A fire burning you inside?"

Now it was Kagami's turn to lower her gaze. "You read too many comic books, Adrien."

"I know it's true, Kagami. It does happen."

She gasped and suddenly looked rather pale. "Did _you_ feel it when you kissed me?" she asked. He shook his head slowly. "How do you know it exists then?" He felt the blood rushing to his face, as he recognised a gleam of understanding shining in her eyes.

"I was very disappointed when I didn't feel it with you, Kag," he said, directly avoiding her question. "I tried to hide it."

"You didn't do a very good job at hiding it, Adrien. Your reaction was very hurtful." She wasn't looking at him any longer. His heart cringed. He wished he didn't have to hurt her feelings so much. But he had no other alternative.

"I'm sorry," he muttered.

"I didn't feel anything of what you said," she admitted, as she wiped her tears with the back of her hands. "But I did find it pleasant. I knew you were disappointed, it was very evident. My _mother_ could see your disappointment Adrien, and she's blind." She smiled a hard smile at his surprised look. "I know, because she asked me what had happened to you so suddenly. It's the reason why I didn't come to the mansion any longer. I didn't know what to make of it."

"I'm sorry," he said again.

"Don't repeat yourself, Agreste." She was blunt, but honest.

"No, I really am sorry, Kag. I listened to you that day, when you told me to change targets. I knew you liked me and I undoubtedly find you attractive."

"What's the problem then?" Her tone was stern, again, but Adrien knew that she wasn't as strong as she projected herself, inside.

_You're just not… her…_ The thought blinked through his mind but he couldn't tell her just that. It wouldn't have been fair.

"You don't deserve this, Kag." He grabbed her hand and kept a strong hold of it, not allowing her to let his grip go. "You deserve someone who would kiss you and feel all of what I said. You deserve to feel it yourself, when you kiss your boyfriend. You're a strong, passionate, wonderful girl. You're not a _second choice_ , and you shouldn't settle for the first boy that crosses your way either. You should aim for the top, like you always do."

"I thought I did just that, when I chose _you_." She looked confused and Adrien let go of her hand. "But evidently I was mistaken."

They were quiet for a long moment. "So… you found the right target," Kagami eventually stated. "She made you feel all these things."

He had to nod, saying it heavily. "She did," he admitted. "I had actually found her a long time ago. But I didn't see it."

She cupped a hand on his cheek and locked her gaze on his for a long moment, her face beautifully flushed. Then she leaned closer to him and put her lips on his. His eyes opened wide in surprise. She only pressed her lips on his for a short moment before releasing him. She gave him a soft look, meeting his melancholic gaze. "I let you go." He could see the sudden increase of sadness in her eyes. "There's no point in keeping what doesn't belong to me in the first place."

"I'm so…"

"Oh stop it," she interrupted him. She pointed a finger straight at his chest. "But listen to me, Agreste. If the person you found is the one I think it is, don't hesitate. Go to her and make her happy. No, what am I saying… make her _ecstatic_." He gasped when she looked at him. Her gaze was still mirroring the sorrow that even he still felt inside, but it now sparkled even of a different light, which he couldn't quite identify.

"What?" he inquired.

"She's the only friend I have here, Adrien, not counting you. If you dare to make her upset, you will have to deal with me." She gave him a sly look. She knew. And she knew that he knew. "I won't let anyone hurt my friends, not even you."

"I don't know what to say." He was speechless. "Was I really the only one who didn't see that Marinette loves me?" He blushed furiously when she laughed.

"And she's not the only one that was in love," she added.

He gave her a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"

She moved her sitting position on the seat of the car, crossing her legs in a much more confident pose and folded her arms on her chest. "I have looked very carefully at the way you react to people around you, Adrien. I have liked you from the day I met you. Have you ever wondered why I didn't make my move earlier with you?"

The thought had certainly crossed his mind. Kagami had often said that she didn't hesitate, but she had taken a long time before even attempting to be with him. "I did," he admitted. "But I can't figure out why."

"The day you beat me at fencing, I told you that you really liked Marinette. You said that she was a good friend, but I could tell something was off," she started. He gulped. _Really?_ "Then when we went to the ice rink I saw how jealous you were of her."

"I was not…" he snapped.

Kagami laughed and gave him a soft push on his shoulder. "You're more blind than my mother! Of course you were!" He glared at her and pouted, folding his arms on his chest. "And don't look at me like that. It was as clear as the sun, nobody could have missed it." Then she added quickly, "Except _you_ , of course. And her. She's as blind as you are."

She breathed in and continued, "I had strong feelings for you, but I also liked Marinette a lot and didn't want to take someone that was already taken. That's why, very uncharacteristically of me, I hesitated. And waited." She groaned. "But soon I realised that both of you couldn't see it, and got fed up of staying at the edge, watching the two of you dancing around each other. It really went to my nerves." She eyed him sternly, but as she spoke, her gaze softened. "So I made my move, and don't regret it. We had some nice times, Adrien. But I knew it wasn't going to last forever. Your disappointment when you finally kissed me proved it to me. That's why I know that I need to let you go."

"Oh boy. I must really be dense," he muttered in utter embarrassment as his hand reached the nape of his head. He suddenly felt self conscious of it, remembering Alya's remark, and put his hand down.

Plagg's advice from last night was still resounding in his memory. 'Which set of pigtails holds that heart of yours'. He rested his hands on his legs and looked down, feeling defeated, as the reality of what Kagami had just said hit him in the stomach like a well aimed punch.

Plagg was right. Kagami was right. Alya was right.

He was an idiot.

"Just a little bit," Kagami said in between her laughter. "Now get out of here, Mr Dense. I shall see you at fencing this evening." She eyed him slyly. "And I want a detailed report."

He put two fingers to his temple and smiled his model smile, but when he crossed her amused gaze with his, his smile deepened and reached his eyes. "As you command," he joked. Then he opened the car door and came out of it, closing the door behind him.

He walked back inside the mansion in a daze. He felt a little lighter now that Kagami had been dealt with, and in a way that he hoped hadn't upset her too much. He still couldn't believe that he had managed to speak to her about it. And he definitely couldn't quite believe that even Kagami had seen that Marinette loved him. And that _he…_ loved _her_. He facepalmed at his own stupidity.

But now… he had one last chance of calling Ladybug before going to school. He quickly went to the breakfast buffet and scoffed down as fast as he could some fat free yoghurt with flaxseeds and a fruit salad.

"Going to fetch my school bag," he said and hastily walked up the stairs.

"How did it go with Fencer-lady?" Plagg asked when he finally came into his bedroom; he sounded very annoyed. "You didn't even wake me up!"

"She let me go, Plagg," he said softly. "I think it went rather well, although I felt really awful for hurting her like that."

"Oh that comes as a surprise," mused the kwami. "I'm proud of you, kitten." Plagg exchanged a high five with Adrien, who sighed, but then smiled softly. "So now you have free licence to make your move with Baker-girl?"

Adrien sighed. "It's _Marinette_ , Plagg. And not that fast. I still have a phone call to make. I'm… I'm still dreading it."

Plagg floated close to his cheek and gently stroked it. "Now, now… you will be good, kid. All will be good. Don't worry."

"Claws out," he muttered as he went back to check if he had locked his bedroom's door. Then, he took hold of his baton, turned his communicator on, and dialed her number. Voicemail again. He took a big breath and started recording his message.

"Hey Bugaboo. I… wanted to speak to you directly, but we spent all night playing phone tag, and I'm fed up with it, to be honest." He sighed heavily before continuing, "There are a few things I need to tell you, and it will take some time… you better sit down."

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Here we are. Kagami has been dealt with… and Chat finally decided to leave a message to Ladybug. We are close to the end. Chapter 7 will be published on , and will be the end of the story. There will be a chapter 8, but it will be an epilogue.**

**Thank you so much for all the comments, bookmarks and kudos. I love to hear your thoughts. Hope you're enjoying reading this as much as I'm enjoying writing it! Leaving a note doesn't cost anything… ;)**

**See you all in a few days for the long awaited finale. And thanks again to my wonderful friends Speckle and Agrestebug!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A Daring Mother's Day - chapter 7**

**Written by: JuliaFC**

**Beta-read by: Agrestebug and Speckleflower. Thank you SO much! You're both the best! :)**

**Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by (c) Thomas Astruc, TS1 Bouygues, Disney Channel, Zagtoon, Toei Animation. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.**

oOo

"Marinette! Marinette please wake up!" Alya's voice stabbed her cotton filled head. "It's ten past eight! We're going to be late for school!"

Marinette's eyes sprang open. "TEN PAST EIGHT!" She jumped out of bed, her hands cupped both sides of her face. "Oh my God, this is a disaster! We'll never get ready on time!" She ran around in a panic frenzy, grabbing her school bag and putting on half of her clothes while brushing her teeth and the other half on while she rinsed with mouthwash.

Last night had been probably one of the most eventful and tiring nights ever. Not only the truth or dare game they both had played with Chat Noir had left her shaken, and nearly unable to sleep in the first place, but the ennerving game of phone tag that herself as Ladybug and Chat Noir both had unwillingly started and carried out until the early hours had made her even more exhausted. She had ended up falling asleep sitting on the toilet seat, and her dad had woken her up a little before 4 am, trying to open the locked bathroom's door to get ready for work. And luckily she had locked the door. She would have had a few problems explaining why Ladybug was sleeping sitting on their toilet seat, otherwise. So if it wasn't for the adrenaline rushing through her body, she doubted that she would have been able to keep her eyes open, right now.

She quickly washed her face and put some mascara and eyeliner on. Then she hastily grabbed her school bag, noticing that Alya instead was already fully dressed and ready to go, having even her backpack on her shoulders.

"What?" Alya asked with a surprised frown. "I have been trying to wake you up for ages. I even went downstairs and had breakfast! Like you should be doing right now."

Marinette looked at her phone's alarm. "No time for breakfast, it's twenty past eight!" That made some colour disappear even from Alya's face.

"We're only five minutes away, right?" panicked Alya. "Catch me if you can!" That said, Alya giggled and quickly ran down the stairs that lead in and out of Marinette's room, immediately followed by Marinette, as giggly as her. They rushed out of the apartment and then down the two flights of stairs. Marinette dashed into the bakery's kitchen and grabbed a couple of croissants just out of the oven, put them in a bag and then into her school bag, thinking that she would eat them later.

"Off to school maman, papa! See you later!" She didn't even wait for her parents to reply, and she was out of the back door, running after Alya until they both reached the traffic light. Which was red, of course.

"8.27. School is right there. Will we make it?" Alya inquired. "You're the expert here…" she sniggered.

Marinette sighed and grabbed her arm, resuming her run as soon as the light turned green. "Maybe only just!" she stated. Then, in an effort that would have put an athlete to shame, they sprinted down the road and got through the school's gate just seconds before the bell rang.

"Girl… seriously. No more sleepovers on a school night. You're going to kill me!" Alya said, her voice shaky in between her heavy breaths.

"Agreed," was Marinette's answer, as she tried very hard to tame the mad pounding of her heart. She swiped the sweat from her forehead and from under her eyes and stood up, finally able to look around.

"Good morning, Marinette!" came a voice from behind her. She turned around and saw Mylene and Ivan looking at her with a happy smile on their face.

"Uh… good morning! Shouldn't you be in class?" she mused to herself.

"Morning, Dudette!" That was Nino. He seemed to be positively beaming. What was wrong with everyone this morning?

"Hey, Marinette!" She looked up and saw Marc and Nathan waving at her, among a bunch of other students she didn't know well. She nervously waved back.

"Hi, Marinette!" This was a student she didn't know at all. She had to think carefully before answering.

"Oh. Hi... P-paul…?" she tried. The boy smiled delightfully, as if he was over the moon just because she knew his name.

Marinette looked at Alya and her friend shrugged and put her hands up in a gesture that meant that even she had no idea what was going on. They both started walking towards the locker room, feeling that the scene unfolding was getting creepier and creepier the further inside the school they went.

"Is it just me, Alya, or does it look like everyone... and I highlight, EVERYONE, is out in the school hall and is following us?" She couldn't get rid of that nasty feeling twisting her gut. She had arrived at school at the last second many other times that year, and nothing like this had ever happened. Ever.

"Including the teachers, you mean?" Alya'a gaze shifted to the left and Marinette noticed that even Miss Bustier was just outside her class and was watching them walking. And she didn't look annoyed at all at the delay to the start of her class. In fact, she looked quite amused. Rose stood near her, her face all flushed and her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"This is so…" she started to say, promptly muted by Juleka, who put both her hands on Rose's mouth and smiled nervously.

"Yes," Marinette managed to say, before being grabbed and turned to face a very flustered Chloé. Bluebell eyes met her cerulean blue, the face of the mayor's daughter theatrically showing her distress.

"Dupain-Cheng… this is ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous." She put her hand dramatically to her eyes and marched away, followed by an overly worried Sabrina that gave her a funny look.

_What the hell…_

They continued towards the locker room and by then, Marinette was expecting something terrible to happen. Maybe an akuma had struck in the school before she arrived? As she entered the locker room, she was greeted by the infuriated green eyes of Lila. Was this all due to one of her lies, maybe? But she looked too infuriated and distressed for that.

"This is not the end, Marinette. You haven't won yet!" Lila hissed and marched out. Marinette was left staring into nothing, completely baffled by everyone's reactions. She sighed and walked her way to her locker.

"Hi, Marinette, can I talk to you for a minute?" came a voice from behind her. Marinette was so confused that she didn't even recognise the voice, nor noticed how Alya stiffened next to her when she turned around to see who it was.

"Not now. I'm late for class and have no intention of visiting the Principal's office again," she argued with herself. Then, without even turning around, she opened her locker's door.

Suddenly, the Principal's office became the last of her worries, the sound of her and Alya's surprised gasps and wows resounding in the room around them.

"Oh. My. God. This must have cost a fortune!" Marinette heard Alya say.

In her locker, squeezed in a way that seemed to defy physics, was a gigantic bunch of roses. Dark blue roses at the back, followed by hot pink and deep red, all placed exquisitely together in a wonderfully balanced mix. In front of the bouquet was a carefully placed note that couldn't be missed... and when she caught sight of the words written on it, tears started streaming from her eyes, down her cheeks.

**"** _**Blue Roses to match your hair and the colour of your eyes,** _

_**Pink roses to say thank you for your beautiful surprise,** _

_**Red roses for my passion. You won my heart's first prize.** _

**Not very good at writing these, but... I love you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.**

**Ps: I'm not signing this, so you know how it feels like.**

**Ps2: Only joking. I wouldn't do that to you. Yours now and forever,**

**A. A. A. A. A. A."**

Suddenly, her tears weren't any longer the only thing blurring her eyesight, as a pair of hands cupped on her face and obscured her view.

"I'm sure you know what the A's stand for!" Adrien's amused voice said from behind her. "But I can spell them out for you, if you want me to."

He gently turned her around and looked at her with those gorgeous bright green eyes that had stolen her heart just a few months before. She could clearly see black marks under those eyes, even if he had tried to conceal them. She looked at him in pure amazement, unable even to breathe, or to move, in fear that it would all end up being a dream, and she would wake up in her bed with Alya snoring next to her.

"A-Adrien…" it took all her will to say just that.

He gently moved some hair that had made its way at the front of her forehead and that was dangerously getting close to her eyes. "Yes…" He smiled his most amazing smile, that brightened his eyes and lit up his whole face. "Arthur, Augustin, Antoine, Athanese, Agreste. Who would like to ask for your permission, Marinette."

 _'With your permission, Marinette!'_ Chat Noir's words, which Alya had replayed over and over and over again the night before, echoed suddenly in her mind, but she forcefully parked them and ignored them, as overwhelmed as she was with this new stream of emotions. Why on Earth was she even thinking of Chat Noir now?

She nodded ever so slightly, but the gleam in Adrien's eyes told her that he had been waiting for her approval way too long for his taste. He quickly closed all gaps between them and his lips met hers, as the lightning bolt hit Marinette again and burned her in the deepest depths of her very being.

A small part of her brain perceived her body being slammed against her locker, the bouquet falling on their head and a pair of hands lifting it from there and taking it away, as the cold of the metal from the bottom of the locker seemed to be sinking into her back. Her hands flew to his nape and then ran through his hair, and she felt that he was doing the same with her own hair, grabbing her pigtails and releasing the laces, letting her hair flow free in his touch.

The butterflies had also taken new residence in her stomach and a feverish shiver was making her whole body throb as Adrien's hands left her hair and started running all over her back, up to her waist and trying to sneak under her top.

 _Adrien! Not that fast…_ She didn't know how she managed to keep such a rational thought, but she grabbed his hands and pushed him back with the smallest of pressure. A small smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth as she turned the tables, rolling him to the side so that his back was now leaning against the lockers.

Maybe because her lack of sleep was swiping away her patience and her hesitation. Maybe because she was getting an awful feeling of deja vu, not only in the dynamics of the kiss but also in the sensations that the kiss was building into her soul. Maybe because her gut was simply telling her that she ought to take control, this time. But as she kept a firm grip of his hands, she found the courage to tentatively push her tongue in his mouth, and was rewarded with a passionate moan, as his lips opened to welcome her in.

That reaction killed completely the last bit of coherent thought left in her mind; she pulled herself up and wrapped him with her legs, her hands letting go of his and running their way up his torso, back to his hair as she deepened the kiss for what felt like an eternity. She felt him shiver under her touch and opened her eyes to look at him and take him in completely. The look of complete and utter adoration that she could see in his eyes left her breathless, and thirsty for more.

"Ahem!" Alya's voice sounded pretty amused from her left, causing both to turn towards her. She was positively beaming at them, her phone firmly in her hands, pointing in their direction. And she wasn't the only one with her phone out… Marinette noticed that almost everyone that was in the room had some sort of phone, or camera, pointing straight at them. She gulped awkwardly.

"I suppose I will just put these flowers back in your locker and go to class, to cover you lovebirds!" Alya proceeded to place the flowers carefully back where they previously were, and then she gave them a cunning look that made blood rush to Marinette's face, and sniggered. "If there's any need to excuse you two, based on the reaction of the whole school. But… I'll leave you privacy." By now, Marinette was sure that her face had turned crimson. Adrien looked also quite red.

She exchanged one more look with both of them and then she turned around grabbing Nino who was smiling dreamily next to her. She shooed away a few more students that had gathered around, most of whom Marinette had never even seen before.

"Come on! Show is over! Leave them in peace!" She insisted until the locker room was left empty, then she turned again towards them and winked before exiting the room herself.

oOo

They both followed Alya with their gaze, waiting for the room to be empty.

"Not that you're heavy, not at all," Adrien said when they were alone. "But it may be better if you get down. I need my hands."

Only at that comment did Marinette realise that she was comfortably sitting on his lap, her legs firmly wrapped around him and he was balancing her by holding her on his waist. She cautiously put her feet down and released him, giving him a sly look.

"As long as those hands behave, mister!" She saw Adrien's gaze lower awkwardly and his face turning crimson while his right hand reached nervously to the nape of his neck.

"Uh… sorry…" he muttered, caught off guard. Then he looked at her with a cheeky smile and joked, "at least you're not stuttering anymore…"

She smiled, but then looked at him cunningly. "Don't change the subject!" She feigned outrage and pouted, folding her arms on her chest. This caused Adrien to smile, and then laugh. A few seconds later, they were both in stitches.

"Seriously, Marinette," Adrien said when he finally managed to breathe again, as he wiped tears from his eyes and frowned at the sight of the concealer on his fingers. "I really wanted to say thank you. You made my day much brighter yesterday."

Marinette looked at the giant bouquet in her locker and picked up his note, stroking the words tenderly. "If I knew that this is the way you say thanks, I would have signed each and every of my presents for you, Mr Agreste!" she smiled softly at him, but her smile died in her face when she saw Adrien smiling back a perfect replica of Chat Noir's Cheshire grin.

Oh dear… she had already seen those eyes looking at her with the exact same adoration. No. That couldn't be. She tried to scratch the thought out of her mind, but he had noticed her change of mood.

"What's wrong?" he asked, a sudden frown appearing on his face.

She smiled softly. "It's OK, I'm fine. I just… need the toilet." She lowered her gaze, her heart pounding madly in her chest, as the shadow of the doubt started sneaking inside her. That kiss, the same feelings, the same emotions…

"Wait!" He tried to stop her by grabbing her hands and pulling her closer, lifting her chin with two of his fingers and kissing the knuckles of her right hand, ever so gently. "Will you be my girlfriend, Marinette?"

Her heart found a new place in her throat and started pounding madly. Blood rushed to her face as her eyes opened wide.

"Toilet! I said I need the toilet." She slapped her hands out of his nervously, and ran out of the locker room, and then into the girls' room.

oOo

As soon as she entered the bathroom and locked herself into a cubicle, Tikki came out, frowning worriedly.

"Why did you run away like that, Marinette?" she scolded her. "Poor Adrien must think that you suddenly hate him or something." But then she noticed the tears streaming out of her eyes and gave her a few pats on her cheek. "Now, now… what's wrong?"

"I don't know!" Marinette cupped her hands on her face and started sobbing uncontrollably. "There I was, Tikki. It was the best moment of my life. The boy I love just asked me to be his girlfriend! And…"

"And…?" inquired Tikki.

"And…" she couldn't get to say it. Because saying it meant to admit it, to herself and to Tikki. It was going to make it real.

"And…?" Tikki tried again.

Marinette groaned and put her hands in her loose hair. "And all I could think of was that Adrien reminded me of _Chat Noir_!"

Now. She had said it. She had… she put her hands in front of her mouth and gasped, her eyes as big as saucers.

"Oh…" said Tikki blankly.

"You don't understand, Tikki. You told me last night to follow my heart and to listen to my body. Adrien was kissing me… and I felt the exact same emotions that I felt when Chat Noir kissed me yesterday." She sighed heavily. "I'm so confused!"

Her kwami friend was looking at her with a really sad frown and appeared almost… defeated?

"Maybe… maybe you should listen to his message. I mean Chat Noir. He left you a message, a long one." Tikki was looking at her with increasing concern. "At least you can find out what he wanted to tell you last night."

Marinette sighed. "Guess you're right. Spots on." She sat on the toilet seat again - for some reason she seemed to spend a long time sitting on the toilet recently - and turned on the Bugphone. Sure enough, the face of her Kitty popped up, with the sign for '1 message waiting' next to it. She sighed and she started listening.

"Hey Bugaboo. I… wanted to speak to you directly, but we spent all night playing phone tag, and I'm fed up with it, to be honest." Moment of silence. "There are a few things I need to tell you, and it will take some time… you better sit down."

Marinette sighed. Miss Bustier wouldn't be happy with her. But she had no choice. She wanted to know. She _needed_ to know.

"I had a very rough weekend. I can't be more precise with you, but it's something related to my family and to my mother." He sighed heavily on the microphone. "I am sorry I let myself get so low today, I could easily have been akumatised and it's been very irresponsible of me, I hear you. However… one of my friends went beyond her way to cheer me up and… made me feel much better. But then, I messed it up. I'm a bit ashamed of myself for what I've done, and I will understand if you will ask for my miraculous back because… I slipped badly and someone figured out my identity."

Marinette gasped loudly. _What?_

"And not just a random someone. I'm very sorry m'lady, but the girl who runs the Ladyblog… Alya… she figured me out. She said that she recognised a nervous tic I have, and I would never have thought that it would be so easy for someone to find out who I am. But…" Long silence. "Now the cat is out of the bag."

 _ALYA! I'm going to kill you stone dead!_ Marinette knew that her friend had her own agenda when she started that game. So that's it… that's why Chat was so terrified when the game ended.

"But you know… call me irresponsible, call me an idiot, but I can't feel really sorry for what happened, because last night I have made an amazing discovery, and I'm questioning whether it was just worth the risk, for finding out what I did."

"Last night I spent the night with Alya, and with a common friend, the girl who had tried to cheer me up."

 _Eh?_ Marinette's heart started pounding faster. But yes, she had indeed tried to cheer him up after all, she had hugged him and given him a towel…

"She's the most amazing girl that I have ever met, m'lady, except you of course. Creative, caring, sweet, always ready to help others. She reminds me of you in so many ways. She also styles her hair like you. She's my everyday Ladybug."

Blood drained from Marinette's face.

"Until now I had thought that she didn't like me. She was always so odd around me that I had always believed that there was a chance she actually hated me. But last night... last night I found out that she had this massive crush on me and she had it from day one, when I gave her my umbrella on my first day of school."

The Bugphone slipped off Ladybug's hands and fell on the ground. Her hands went to her mouth, her eyes as wide as saucers. But she didn't allow her shock to last too long. She heard the sound of Adrien's voice carrying on talking and she _had_ to force herself to move and pick the Bugphone up.

"... she's a bit creepy, I admit it, but really sweet. I mean, I found it sweet. That she took such a big interest in me. I thought she was a fan of mine because she liked fashion, and I'm a bit into fashion myself, m'lady, I think I can say this without you figuring me out. I thought as well that, like you, she loved another boy. But.. ends up I was completely wrong and she's head over heels in love with me."

Blood rushed back to Marinette's cheeks, as her heart seemed to want to explode out of her chest.

"Anyway… I had some serious thoughts here last night and have realised that although in my head I considered her only a good friend, in my heart I was having stronger feelings than that. I'm confused, m'lady. I still love you. But I feel that I love that girl too. Can you love two different girls with the same intensity? I don't know…."

Marinette was sobbing. She was pouring her heart out with her sobs, which came from the deepest ends of her soul. Tikki was right. She should have listened to her heart. To what her heart was trying to tell her. That there weren't two handsome blondes that kissed the same way and, when not paying attention, smiled the same Cheshire grin. There was only one. And now she really was in trouble.

"So," Adrien continued, "I just wanted you to know that today I'm going to school and I will ask this girl to be my girlfriend. If she says yes, I will have to change my attitude towards you, Bugaboo. You may be relieved to know. I solemnly swear I will stop the flirting. Hand on heart." She distinctly heard him laugh softly. "But I won't stop the puns, not that, Bugaboo. It would be _pawful…_ please allow an alleycat to have fun from time to time."

She laughed.

"So you see… I don't even know how I had the courage to tell you, but now it's out and I can't take it back. I feel better. And m'lady, if this will mean that I will lose my miraculous… so be it. I won't have any regrets. Had I not slipped last night, I would never have found out the truth about my purrincess. So please let me know, OK? I will be waiting for a message from you, or I will see you at patrol."

"I still love you, Bugaboo. Please forgive me."

The message ended and Marinette looked briefly at the face of her partner showing on the screen, as cheeky as usual.

"You're a stupid dork, Adrien Agreste, Chat Noir, whichever name you prefer. But I love blond dorks very, very much." She hugged the Bugphone. "Spots off."

Tikki reappeared in a flash of light and looked at her friend with curiosity in her eyes. They stared at each other for a very long moment.

"So now you know," Tikki said. Marinette nodded and sniffed loudly, taking a couple of minutes to style her hair back into pigtails, and wash her hands.

"Better get back to class, Tikki. Miss Bustier will kill me, and the poor dork is there, thinking that I hate him." She smiled at her kwami friend. "We can't leave him in his misery, can we? Not after that wonderful bouquet of roses!"

Tikki smiled and flew into Marinette's bag, nibbling on a piece of macaron. "And the kisses, don't forget the kisses!" she joked. Marinette smiled. Yes…the kisses. She couldn't get over those kisses.

oOo

Adrien waited for a few minutes in the locker room, hoping that Marinette would come back. But the minutes passed by, and she was nowhere to be seen. He sighed. By now he should have been used to this kind of reaction from Marinette when he was around, but somehow he had hoped that things would change when she knew that he loved her too.

He sighed again. Evidently not.

He unwillingly started making his way to Miss Bustier's class and passed in front of the girls' bathroom. It was very tempting to try eavesdropping, but as tempting as it was, he forced himself not to. Not worth the risk. He entered the classroom feeling all eyes on him, including the teacher's.

"Uh… sorry I'm late, Miss Bustier. Marinette is in the toilet." His hand went straight to the nape of his neck as miss Bustier smiled softly. He went to take his seat next to Nino, sure that the colour of his face matched Ladybug's suit.

"Hey, 'sup, dude?" asked Nino in a whisper.

Adrien sighed. "I don't know. She ran away."

"Oh…" Nino's surprise echoed Alya's one behind him. She had gasped so loudly that Miss Bustier heard her and asked her to answer a question at the blackboard. Adrien sighed again and picked up his tablet from his bag, trying his hardest to concentrate on the lesson. But as the minutes passed by, he became always more nervous, as Marinette wasn't coming back to class.

He had started getting worried for her, when finally the door opened and Marinette came in, her completion positively ashen. She muttered some words of apology towards miss Bustier and walked nervously to her seat, doing her best to avoid eye contact with him. He turned around, trying to catch her gaze, but she very stubbornly picked her tablet up and started looking at it, completely ignoring him.

 _O...okay…_ he thought and turned back to try following what Miss Bustier was saying. He didn't know what was going on, but he would talk to her at the end of the lesson.

oOo

 **[Everything ok, girl?]** Alya wrote these words on a piece of paper and passed it on to Marinette, who simply nodded.

**[What's wrong? Something that Sunshine did?]**

**[No, it's all good. More than good in fact. I will tell you when the lesson ends.]** Marinette wrote back to her. This seemed to calm Alya down a little bit, but from the way that Adrien behaved, you would have thought that his seat was on fire. _Poor Kitty,_ Marinette thought. _Maybe I should have looked at him._ She smiled softly.

 **[Poor Sunshine child, he tried so hard. Here, look!]** Alya's new message said. She passed on her phone to her, which showed Adrien's instagram page. A post at 7.45 that morning.

_Adrien: Where can I find blue roses? Need them urgently!_

There were about 235 replies. That was some search.

_Wayhem: What do you need them for?_

_Adrien: Just to say thanks to someone._

_Wayhem: Wow… That's what I call a thank you gift. Let me call some places._

In the following replies, at least twenty or thirty of his fans said they would look around.

_Josephine: Sorry, have to ask. Do you need real ones or fake ones?_

_Adrien: Real ones of course!_

Another few messages of people placing phone calls.

_La Boutique des Saint-Pères: Mr Agreste, we have a few blue roses here, around twenty. Is that enough?_

_Adrien: Can you mix them with some hot pink and deep red?_

_La Boutique del Saint-Pères: Bien sûr. Such a lucky lady is getting this gift. Will be ready in five minutes._

That was at 8.00 am. Wow… the power of Adrien's fan-club. But the comments continued and Marinette felt blood rushing to her face, as a picture of her kissing Adrien popped up, sent by some Paul.

_Paul: The lucky lady seems to have appreciated it! And she knows my name! I can die happy!_

Oh, that Paul.

_Josephine: OMG! Lucky lady indeed!_

_Janine: What a b…._

_Nino: Hey, Dudette! Language…_

There were a few not very appreciative comments following, and Adrien had turned the comments off. Dear God… that's what it looked like to get some interest from a celebrity… Marinette facepalmed and handed the phone back to Alya, trying very hard to concentrate on the lesson. But her face was really hot.

After what felt like the longest hours of her life, finally the bell rang and Miss Bustier's lesson was over. Based on how quickly Adrien turned around, you would have thought that there was an akuma right behind her face.

"Are you all right, Marinette?" he asked. His beautiful eyes were looking at her with almost a gleam of pain, as his frown showed all his concern. "Did I say or do something wrong?"

"No, don't worry. I'm the happiest and luckiest girl on Earth, and I will be honoured to be your girlfriend… KITTY." She winked at him and smiled knowingly when she saw his happy gaze turning into a look of pure panic.

He glared at Alya, who looked back at him in utter puzzlement. She shrugged, pointed at herself and gestured a "no!" Adrien paled, but couldn't say anything, as all their classmates gathered around them. Some just gave a pat on Adrien's shoulder, the girls took turns hugging Marinette, asking her if they could see the bouquet. Marinette answered to everyone with a bright smile and waited for everybody to get out of the room, until it was only her, Alya, Adrien and Nino.

Then she looked at Adrien and smiled softly. "How many times do I need to tell you that you're irreplaceable, _mon minou_?" She held his gaze with her serious one for a good minute and saw Adrien going from a doubtful frown to surprise, to shock, to pure happiness.

"Bugaboo! It's you!" he exclaimed and grabbed her hands, an expression of pure delight brightening his entire face. Marinette smiled at him and looked around, glad that she had waited for everyone to be outside.

Nino was looking at them with a gobsmacked expression. Alya had her mouth open in an "o" shape, her eyes as big as saucers.

"You must be kidding me…" Marinette heard Alya say. She wanted to say something back, but Adrien jumped on top of Marinette's desk and wrapped her in a massive embrace. Then, he cupped a hand on her cheek and kissed her on the lips. And the rest of the world just disappeared. She didn't know when or how, but she ended up sitting on Adrien's lap and covering him with kisses.

"Does this mean I can keep my miraculous, Bugaboo?" He smiled his Cheshire grin.

"Of course, Kitty. I wouldn't want anyone else to be my black cat," she barely managed to say before he kissed her again.

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Well… this is the end, ladies and gentlemen. There is a chapter 8, which is an epilogue, to tie in some loose ends. It also contains Alya's exclusive interview for her blog… so if you're curious about what she's going to say, keep following.**

**I hope you liked my take on how an Agreste says thank you. And that you enjoyed listening to Chat's message. I know, I was cruel, leaving you hanging there with that cliffhanger for a few days! Hope this chapter was worth the wait. Please drop me a note and let me know. I would love to get feedback from you, now that the main story has come to an end. Make my day, please! :)**

**Again, thank you all for your comments, kudos and bookmarks! I love you all so much! ^_^**

**By the way: I'm looking for an artist who can illustrate a couple of scenes from this story, because I would love a cover picture for it. If any of you is interested in taking on the job, you can contact me privately. I would leave you full freedom as of which scenes you choose to depict.**

**Last but not least, a ton of thank yous to my wonderful betas, and to my friend genxha! :)**

**Chapter 8 will be up in the next few days.**

**Until then,**

**Bug out!**


	8. Epilogue

**A Daring Mother's Day - chapter 8 - epilogue**

**Written by: JuliaFC**

**Beta-read by: Agrestebug and Speckleflower. Thank you SO much! You're both the best! :)**

**Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by (c) Thomas Astruc, TS1 Bouygues, Disney Channel, Zagtoon, Toei Animation. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.**

oOo

_Ladyblog Exclusive_

_Scoop: LadyNoir is finally real. My ship has sailed!_

_By Alya Cesaire_

_Contains previously unpublished interview with Chat Noir_

_*Selfie of Alya and Chat Noir. Alya's bust is naked and her bra is in full view. She gestures a V sign with her left hand.*_

_My dear friends. It is with great anticipation and happiness that I announce to all of you the biggest and most awaited news this Ladyblog has ever offered. Ever._

_Ladybug and Chat Noir are finally a couple. Yes, I had it confirmed by the superheroes themselves in an exclusive interview, so if you want the juicy details, keep reading. *sniggers*_

_It all started on a bright evening, when I caught our favourite hero in a compromising position (I have been sworn to secrecy, sorry!). And because moi is moi and moi is very clever, I have used this discovery to my advantage! I have obtained (Ok, more threatened than obtained, but you do what you need to do in the name of journalism!) a juicy session of truth or dare with no-one else than our most favourite black cat with wiggly black ears!_

_Now… if you were my boyfriend, you would know how dangerous it is to play this particular game with me, but since our black cat is a superhero… he laughs in the face of danger. So… I had the time of my life, guys. And yes, that's my bra showing in the cover picture. Don't lose a dare with Chat Noir, I warn you, dear readers. You know now what I had to endure to dig out the truth._

_Ok, I hear you, endure isn't the right word._

_But let's get to the juicy part. I won't describe the session in detail, always for the "sworn to secrecy" reason, but I will highlight in bullet points the most juicy findings, delight you with the best asked and answered truth question ever and… end the article with the best picture ever. Ready?_

  * _Our Kittycat has real cat tendencies. Especially when Ladybug is concerned, but it works with everyone. Just get close enough to rub behind his ears and… he will delight you with the cutest purr ever. Now… getting close enough to rub his ears is the problem, but I'm sure you fangirls will enjoy the challenge *wink wink*_
  * _Continuing on the cat tendencies: he's pretty protective of his bell. Apparently it's a symbol for his stray cat's heart, to find a loving home. Yes, I can hear you. Awwwww Kitty. Who wouldn't want to give you a loving home? (OK, my boyfriend here reminds me that I have a boyfriend… never mind!) Anyway. If you don't want to be hissed at and scratched with magic claws, leave the bell poking to Ladybug._
  * _His suit unzips. AND he has ABS. Oh… and he's a good kisser. Don't ask me how I know the last detail, ladies, I won't talk even under torture. But I hear you gals... I feel a cat hunt will soon start all over Paris. The cat is warned! Better start running, Kitty._
  * _Our cat is a posh young man with several names. One of them starts with A. What? Not enough information? Good. We don't want to reveal him, do we? His identity is a secret for a reason. Not even I know who he is. And no, I don't want to know. Read above._
  * _The flirt of Paris thinks that it's unfair that we call him that, since he only ever flirts with Ladybug. I know, he forgot about Rena Rouge, Ryuko… and about half of Paris. As long as they have boobs and they breathe. Forgetful cat._



_Now… as for the best asked and answered truth question ever… I can finally reveal it. "When, why and how did you fall in love with Ladybug, Kitty?" Ready for the answer? I will cut and paste from my transcript, because it's just… too much. Too good. Ready? Go!_

_"When did I fall in love with Ladybug? The first day I met her._

_"When Hawkmoth's face appeared in the cloud of butterflies, I saw her standing up for herself, taking all her courage at hand and her heart on her sleeve. She faced that monster, put him in his place and displayed such an amazing self-belief, confidence and bravery… that I felt every hair on my head stand up in pure admiration. And I thought… Oh wow. I really love that girl._

" _Then, the more I fought at her side, the more I discovered the girl behind the mask. She's brave, but also funny, sassy and creative. She's always there to help you._

_"But she can also doubt herself. I saw her crying because she felt that the responsibility she had been given was too much for her. I saw her panicking because she had put people's lives at risk. I saw her frustration when she couldn't understand how to use a lucky charm until the end. A couple of times I had to give her strength and believe me, I didn't mind seeing that fragile side of her and I was proud that she trusted me enough to show it to me and ask for my help._

" _This is why even if she keeps rejecting me, even if she keeps making fun of me every day, even if she gets exasperated every time I joke and can't see my pawsomeness and the greatness of my cat puns… the more I know her, the more I learn about the amazing girl behind the mask, the more I can't help but falling in love with her over and over again. I don't love her because she's perfect. I love her because she's_ not _. I love the girl, not the mask."_

_Now… guys, please tell me. How can someone not fall in love with this cat? Even I was left all dreamy and shivering after hearing this, and I'm not the romantic type! How could Ladybug not?_

_So… there it is, the most awaited picture of all time. And guys I warn you… I have EXCLUSIVE COPYRIGHT over this!_

_*Picture of Ladybug and Chat Noir kissing*_

_This is all from the Ladyblog. Until the next akuma attack, that is._

_Yours truthfully,_

_Alya Cesaire_

Adrien read the words on the screen of Marinette's computer with growing concern. Marinette was sitting on his lap, and she could feel him stiffening behind her at every word he read; she could clearly understand why.

"I'm in trouble, aren't I?" he whispered when he finally finished reading. Plagg was cackling madly on Marinette's desk.

She turned around towards him, ran her hands to the nape of his neck and then her fingers through his soft hair. Then she gave him a soft smile. "What did you expect? This is Alya we're talking about, and a certain cat has managed to embarrass her. She wanted her revenge…" Her smile became more cunning. Adrien couldn't stop himself and deposited a quick kiss on the cunning lips. The smile grew wider.

"I know… I just hope that now I won't have half of Paris running after my alter ego as well as after real me. It's bad enough when I try to sneak out of the mansion as Adrien. It would be as annoying as hell during patrol." He squeezed her in a hug, his chin resting on the side of her neck, on top of her right shoulder, as his eyes darted again on the words published on the blog.

"Maybe reporter-girl would have been nicer, if you hadn't insisted to wait a full month before she published this article, kid!" Plagg scoffed down a slice of Camembert after saying this.

Adrien sighed. "You know why we decided to wait. We couldn't have Adrien and Marinette start dating AND Ladybug and Chat Noir become a couple at the same time. It was too dangerous!"

"Nah," Plagg snarled. "People are blind! Nobody would have made the connection anyway!"

Adrien sighed at Plagg's words, and then his attention was shifted to the three dots that started to appear on the comments field of the Ladyblog's article. Oh dear, there we were. Someone was writing a comment.

"I bet this slice of Camembert that it's someone asking about your abs, kid!" Plagg was looking at the screen as well, evidently amused.

"Could be someone commenting on the picture, Stinkysock. You may lose your cheese!" came Tikki's voice from behind Marinette's head.

Plagg smirked. "What's your bet, Sugarcube? One of your macarons?"

"Deal! Anything to see your face when I dump your precious cheese!" Tikki moved and started floating in front of the screen.

"We shall see who's going to look at whom dumping stuff!" the black kwami retorted.

**[23:15:17 - ChatnoirfanclubParis: Ladyblogger! Where's your proof? We want to see the abs!]**

**[23:15:17 - Ladynoir_forever: OMG I can die happy! They're finally kissing!]**

**[23:15:35 - ACLadyBlogger: oh come on, fan-club. His suit doesn't leave much scope to your imagination anyway!]**

**[23:15:59 - ChatnoirfanclubParis: You say his suit unzips. I want proof! You're the journalist who makes claims without proof. I'm just a fan!]**

The first two messages appeared at the exact same time. "HA!" both kwamis exclaimed together.

"Looks like you both won…" said Marinette amusedly.

The messages continued, and Alya also posted a picture of Chat Noir topless, much to Adrien's distress. Plagg couldn't breathe, he was cackling too hard watching Adrien's expression when the comments started showering the blog. The black kwami was literally in tears.

"I don't even remember her taking that picture of me!" Adrien managed to say in between awkward gulps.

"Maybe you should have kept your eyes on her instead of posing as a bodybuilder…" sniggered Plagg between laughing fits, earning a glare from his holder.

More comments popped out.

**[23:20:29 - Chat_fan_67: mhhhhhh here, Kitty Kitty… nice abs… I'll give you a loving home. Forget Ladybug!]**

**[23:21:09 - Chat_is_dabest: Yes, Ladybug… you should learn to share!]**

**[23:21:23 - ACLadyblogger: Ladies, please. You do realise that he's probably reading this and freaking out, don't you?]**

**[23:21:55 - Chat_is_dabest: Is he now? Uh… should write here my address…]**

**[23:22:13 - ACLadyblogger: *facepalm*]**

The comments kept on popping at an increasing speed.

Adrien started feeling more and more uncomfortable. One thing was dealing with the messages of his fans on his Instagram, where he had full control and could turn the comments off, if they needed moderation. Another was staring helplessly at Chat Noir's fans saying that they literally wanted to eat him for breakfast without being able to do anything about it, not even replying. Because replying _wasn't_ a good idea. Not a good idea _at all._

Some of those women were in their forties, if you would trust their nicknames. "Ew… gross!" He scowled at yet another comment that he would have deleted immediately from his own page. Alya had cancelled a few, but she was much more tolerating than he would ever be.

Suddenly, Marinette turned the screen off, earning a groan from Plagg and Tikki, who were still betting on the subject of the next comment, and a, "Why did you do that?" from Adrien.

"They're upsetting you, Kitty," she said simply. "You can't do anything about them anyway, there's no point in getting upset."

She moved from his grip and stood up, opened the trapdoor and started going downstairs. He looked at her in defeat.

"Where are you going?" he inquired.

She smiled. "I think you deserve macarons after this. I have some special ones I baked today."

You didn't need to look for ears on his head to notice the change in his mood. "You're _pawesome_ , Marinette!" He smiled his brightest smile to her, which made her forget about his pun.

"Now, now… how can I leave you here if you smile at me like that?" Marinette joked. To Adrien's dismay, she turned around, climbed back up a couple of stairs and came back near him, smiling cunningly, and deposited another kiss on his lips, and then another. A few kisses later, Adrien had fallen on the ground, with her on top, his lips too busy kissing to protest.

He waited for Marinette to gasp for air and then moved slightly, so that he could look at her in the eyes. "Enough kisses. Macarons first!" He smirked at her pouty, flustered face.

"Oh… so you value macarons more than my kisses, I see…" she retorted.

He laughed. "Never! I'm not Plagg…" He laughed again at Plagg's scowl. "But you said they were special, so I want them. I'm _pawsitively_ curious now." He winked.

Marinette cringed at his horrible pun. Whether he was transformed as Chat Noir or not, Adrien had started behaving more freely around her since the day of their reveal. That meant having an Adrien in her room behaving in the most Chat Noir-esque's way possible. Not that she minded - she loved him, both sides of him. But he was annoying, from time to time. Ok, he was annoying, full stop. She stuck her tongue out, stood up from the floor and walked again to the stairs.

"I shall be right back," she stated, and disappeared downstairs. When she returned, she held a tray full of Ladybug decorated macarons.

"Oh wow… they _are_ different! Never seen anything like them before!" he mused, putting a hand to his chin.

"They're passionfruit, but I used a tiny bit of food colourings, and marzipan to decorate them." She looked at him softly.

Adrien's excitement was very clear. "Have I told you lately that I love you, Bugaboo?" he squealed, clapping his hands in anticipation. Then, he grabbed a Ladybug macaron and put it in his mouth, antennas and all. The happy moan that followed created an amused smile on Marinette's face. "Heaven…" Adrien moaned enthusiastically, his eyes closed to deeply enjoy his snack.

"I thought you may like them!" She blushed, as Adrien stuck two more macarons in his mouth at the same time.

Tikki picked one up too. "They were tempting even when I saw them just out of the oven; now they look amazing!" she said and bit on the one in her hands. "Mhhhhh they taste amazing too!" She smiled happily as she continued to bite on the macaron.

"Bleargh…" Plagg scowled at her, faking disgust. "I don't know how you and my kitten can stomach that stuff. Sugar. Way too overrated. My cheese is much better for my fine palate, and tastier." He flew to a little jar that rested near the computer screen and picked up a slice of camembert from it, scoffing it down in seconds. "What?" he then asked, noticing the scolding expression on the red kwami's face.

"You're incorrigible, Stinkysock. All you can do is talk about cheese!"

They were interrupted by the buzz on Marinette's phone. She grabbed it from her desk and frowned when she read the message, coming from Alya. Then she groaned and sat crossed-legged on the floor, putting her hands on her temples and running them through her hair, which she was now leaving loose, since a certain Kitty told her that he liked it that way.

"What's wrong?" said Kitty asked. He sat on the floor, bummed himself next to her and peeked at the message, gasping and frowning at the sight.

**[Alya: Sorry girl. I had to turn off comments from the article, because the president of Chat Noir's fan club was organising a real cat hunt for next time you two were seen on patrol. I cancelled the messages, but they got me worried now.]**

Marinette sighed and groaned again. Then she started typing, **[Marinette: You got what you wanted, sneaky fox. What are we going to do now? We can hardly protect Paris with a horde of screaming women running after us!]**

**[Alya: Maybe it would be better if the cat kept a low profile for the next few days. Is he with you now?]**

**[Marinette: Yes, of course he is. Do you want to talk to him? Because based on his present scowl, he doesn't seem very favourably inclined to do the same.]**

Adrien's scowl turned into a smile when he read that, his hand running to the nape of his neck. He laughed softly; his lady knew him well.

**[Alya: No, I don't. But I'm glad he's reading this, because it may be better if Rena and Carapace took his place on patrol with you for a couple of days. And maybe he should be discreet when he heads home tonight.]**

Both Marinette and Adrien groaned at the message.

oOo

The day Adrien had finally found out who his lady was, he had been surprised that she would reveal herself in front of Alya and Nino. But his surprise only lasted for a couple of minutes, as Alya spilled the beans and revealed that she was Rena (that's how she knew of his flirting… Adrien had facepalmed at his stupidity. Again), and Nino was Carapace.

When Alya had noticed Marinette's disapproving expression she had said, "What? I just thought that you revealing your identity was a sign for no more secrets between us!" She had shrugged.

"Maybe it's for the best," Marinette had mused. "I think that the day Queen Wasp took control over everyone, Hawkmoth must have seen who all of you are. You were transformed when Chat and I caught up, so they must have given you your miraculous, and the same must have happened to Luka, Max, Kim and everyone else." She had been quiet for a while, then she had continued, "I think the Miraculous Ladybug has erased the world's memory of it, but I'm not sure if it erased Hawkmoth's memory, or Mayura's. Chloé's yes, I think. At least, she hasn't commented on it at all up to now, and knowing her, she would have, had she remembered. But I'm not sure about Hawkmoth and Mayura."

"Nino wasn't transformed," Adrien had tried to say. Nino had given him a thankful look. He had winked back and mouthed, "Got your back, bro!" and Nino had smiled a bright smile.

"Yes," Marinette had mused. "That's because Master Fu was Jade Turtle at that moment. And Kagami wasn't transformed either, because I had her miraculous, but we know that Hawkmoth already knows her identity." Marinette's face was as white as a sheet. "This means that I have lost in one day all my miraculous team. How can I give you a miraculous now that Hawkmoth knows who you are? It would make it dangerous for you!"

"Hawkmoth knew who Kagami was, but it didn't stop you from grabbing her that day and putting her in danger…" Adrien had given her a doubtful look, which had turned into a sly one when she had blushed profusely. "Don't tell me someone was _jealous…_ "

Her scowl and the anger in her eyes told him that he had hit a sore spot. Adrien's smirk had widened. His lady loved him and was jealous of him. The world was a beautiful place.

"I had n-no ch-choice," she had stammered, as the ghost of the old Marinette creeped its way back on her face. "I was kissing you… I m-mean I was yoyo'ing, _she_ was k-kissing you…"

Adrien blushed. "She wasn't _kissing_ me…" he admitted.

"What was it then… because that's what it looked like…" Marinette had gained back her cool. Probably because he was the embarrassed one now.

"Hang on a second, let's move the film back to just a moment ago, shall we…" Alya interrupted them, allowing Adrien to breathe again. "This reminds me that you have a _girlfriend_ , Sunshine. And since this morning, you've been snogging senselessly Marinette here... declaring your love to her and gifting her roses..."

Adrien blushed furiously. "It's…"

"That's true bro." Nino interrupted him and gave him a disapproving look, crossing his arms on his chest. "Keeping your foot in two shoes. Not cool."

Adrien's face reached a new shade of purple. "Uh… no, it's not…"

"Didn't expect you to be a Casanova, Sunshine…" Alya was looking at him slyly.

Adrien pouted. "If you'd let me explain instead of interrupting me every two seconds!" He shouted it, panting heavily afterwards.

"Go on. Let's see how you get yourself out of your hole…" Alya gestured to him to continue.

"Er… first of all, I told you yesterday that she wasn't _exactly_ my girlfriend."

"Diiiiing! _Incorrect_. You only said that you didn't love her, but that she thought differently," Alya corrected him.

"Ok, ok that's true." Adrien sighed. "But last night I asked Kagami to meet me before school this morning and I broke up with her." He said it fast and breathlessly, in fear that someone else would interrupt him again.

"Still not cool, bro. You break up with one girl and throw yourself in the arms of another, all within an hour?" Nino's judgey gaze didn't change a bit. "Poor Kagami…"

"Did you really do that, Kitty?" Marinette's voice sounded almost… hurt? "Kagami is my friend… I can't believe you would hurt her like that..." Then she had a sudden realisation and sighed. "Oh dear… I'm _supposed_ to be her friend myself, and I hadn't thought at all about her, until now…"

Adrien started feeling a knot at his throat. There he was, thinking he was doing the right thing and instead everyone was having a go at him. "But… that's what she _asked_ me to do…" His voice cracked.

"What do you mean?" Marinette was looking at him in disbelief.

Adrien felt his frustration rising. He had to explain what had happened or he was going to become mad… "She _told_ me that from the day I beat her at fencing she had known that I liked you, and that the day we went to the ice rink she had seen how _jealous_ I was of you…"

Marinette gasped and Adrien became purple. "She… she said it was v-very evident and called b-both of us blind…"

Alya started cackling. "I take back all I have ever said about that girl. She's _ace_!" Adrien glared at her, but it only made her cackle more.

"She told me that you're the only friend she has and that if I upset you, she will make me pay." Can human faces get darker than purple? Because he felt his face reaching a darker shade… "And to wow you this morning… and give her a full report at fencing today." He had brought both hands to the nape of his neck as he was saying this.

"Ok, she has a new friend now. _Moi_." Alya was beaming. "Share her phone number, Sunshine, I want to thank her personally. She achieved in one speech what I tried to achieve in months. Gotta luv her."

"Wow… she _is_ a brave dudette…" Nino had his mouth opened in a small 'o'.

Marinette's face was matching the colour of Ladybug's suit. "She had mentioned something that day, of not wanting to hurt my feelings… but… I didn't expect this."

"It's all nice and cool, guys," Adrien jumped out of his skin when he heard Plagg's voice next to his ear. "You do realise that you're wasting your lunch hour in a classroom, that anybody could enter at any time and listen to what you're saying and, more importantly kid, you forgot my cheese this morning and I'm hungry."

"Stinkysock! Is it possible that all you can think of is cheese?" Tikki appeared from Marinette's bag and flew near Plagg.

"Is there anything else worth talking about, Sugarcube?" The black kwami folded his arms on his chest and stared blankly at his red friend.

"Uh… what… are these, your _kwamis_?" Alya asked, her eyes wide and evidently surprised.

Marinette woke up from a daze. "Oh yes, sorry Alya. This is Tikki," she said pointing at her red friend, "and this is Plagg." She saw Alya's amused grin and smirked. "Yes, _that_ Plagg…" They both started to laugh hysterically.

"What?" Plagg asked. Adrien was again looking flustered.

"You're the one who held his abs captive yesterday," Alya said in between laughs, pointing at Adrien.

Plagg beamed with pride. "Yep," He popped the p happily. "You're welcome!" The two girls roared with laughter, making Adrien feel even more uncomfortable, and Nino looked at all three with question marks on his face.

"Ok… I think Plagg is right for once," Adrien stated as he quickly stood from his seat, as if it was burning his backside. "It might be better if we find a more private place to talk… possibly in front of some food. I'm starving!"

"Oh, that's surprising…" Alya earned herself a glare for saying that. "How long have we got?"

Marinette looked at her watch. "About forty-five minutes." She sighed. "I suppose we can go to the bakery, grab some food, put those roses away and talk in my room."

And so, that's what they had done. And at the end of the conversation, they had all agreed that possibly, if Marinette were to take the miraculous away from her team members, now that Hawkmoth knew who they were, and that she cared for them, it could put them in even more danger.

"He may attack us and we won't have a way to defend ourselves!" Alya had pointed out.

This eventually convinced Marinette to give in, and before they left to go back to school, she gave them back their miraculous permanently, promising to herself to do the same with all the other holders she had chosen. Except Chloé, obviously. The only thing she had asked them was to keep a low profile.

oOo

Well, now _that_ plan had also gone out of the window. Next patrol session, Ladybug would be accompanied by Rena and Carapace, and maybe a few more. Chat Noir would intervene only if an akuma was involved. What a mess!

"I may take the long way tomorrow and stop at Juleka's place before starting patrol… and give Luka back his miraculous. His second chance may come in handy."

Adrien turned his head quickly at the mere mention of the name.

"Oh come on, Kitty… how many times do I need to tell you? Luka is _just a friend_." She used her words carefully and smiled at his frown.

"Uh… you are cruel, purrincess…" He scowled at her and she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Do you prefer me saying that he's a _very good friend_?" She sniggered as he scowled again.

She just loved getting it back at him, but this had been the reason why she still hadn't given the Snake miraculous back to Luka. Every time she mentioned his name, or even looked towards where the Couffaine's boat was moored, Adrien didn't look happy.

Marinette knew that it was Alya's fault. They had just been casually talking about the other miraculous holders, and she had cunningly spilled to Adrien that his new girlfriend had a brief relationship with Luka, just after the Queen Wasp incident.

The truth was that Marinette had needed someone to support her, and Luka had been in the right place at the right time. But it hadn't worked out. Luka was a sensitive soul; he could feel that she wasn't giving him 100%, even if she had genuinely tried.

"Alya told me that he wasn't _exactly_ just a friend for you, and it wasn't that long ago!" Adrien was trying to not spit his jealousy out with his words, but he was doing a pretty horrible job at it.

All of sudden, Plagg flew right in front of his face. Tikki instantly followed him, trying to catch him so that she could bring him back to the corner where they were until seconds ago. "No, Sugarcube. I need to speak my mind. I'm fed up with it," he said.

"Let him be, Plagg, he's only human… and in love…" Tikki argued, but Plagg gave her a stern look.

"Yes, yes… but you're not the one who has to listen to him rambling all the time…" he snarked back. Then he turned to look at Adrien straight in the eyes. "Kid, don't dig your own hole here, because I know that later you will regret it, and then who will listen to you going over… and over… and over… all this? _Me_." He stuck his tongue out at Tikki and continued. "Remember that when Pigtails was with Guitar-boy, you were as well not 'just a friend' with Fencer-lady."

"I know that, Plagg…" started Adrien, but Plagg interrupted him.

"So what? She couldn't have her share of fun?" Plagg gave Adrien a sly look and was repaid with a stern glare.

"I broke up with Kagami!" Adrien roared back.

"Oh, and she broke up with him too, didn't she?" Plagg gave him a look of pure triumph when he noticed Adrien break eye contact with him, turn deep red and look down.

"It's not that…" he muttered. He peeked quickly towards Marinette and noticed that she looked more surprised than upset. "Alya told me that he told her that he would be waiting, if it didn't work with me…" he eventually managed to say.

Plagg took a deep breath and sighed dramatically. "You see? This is why I deal with cheese rather than with emotional humans. Why does it bother you so much what she would do if it didn't work with you?" He looked blankly at Adrien, who had turned an even darker shade of red. "I will never understand human jealousy!"

"I'm not jealous!" Adrien snapped back.

Plagg flew in front of his nose and folded his arms on his chest. "No? What do you call it then?" Their gaze locked for a few seconds, and Adrien had to lower his eyes first. "If it bothers you so much kid, _you better make it work_!"

Adrien growled and put his hands in his hair, in a gesture of utter frustration. "And _this_ makes me even _less_ happier with the whole 'low profile' idea..." His scowl turned into a pout. "I'd much rather face a cat hunt than be confided in that prison of mine and leave you with that _snake…_ "

Marinette sighed. "Well, you don't have to stay home, Kitty. You just won't go out on patrol." She smiled softly, choosing to ignore his resentful comment about poor Luka. Plagg had already exasperated Adrien enough.

"I'm sure maman and papa will be delighted to entertain you while I… take a long shower…" She noticed his smirk and smiled cunningly, well aware that her diversion had worked. "And that's my _excuse_ , Kitty I'm not showering now and won't be showering then… Lose that smirk or I'll take the offer back and leave you at home by yourself."

Adrien's smirk turned into a pout. "Uh… you're _definitely_ cruel, purrincess…" They both laughed.

"Maybe it's better if tonight you walk home as Adrien, and say goodbye to my parents, since you came in through the door earlier on."

Adrien's pout stayed on his face. "Are you kicking me out, now? Was I _that_ bad?"

"You can stay if you want." However, she started putting his scarf back on his neck. "But it's nearly midnight, Kitty. We have school tomorrow and my parents wouldn't go to bed knowing that my boyfriend is still in my room with me. Papa is up at four…"

Adrien sighed, although hearing the word 'boyfriend' still gave him butterflies in his stomach. "Ok... I get it…" Then he smirked and looked back at her, wiggling his eyebrows. "Can I do a b-turn and enter again from the balcony?"

"Adrien!" Marinette blushed. "Which part of 'we have school tomorrow' don't you understand?"

"Sorry…" His hand went to his neck. "So I suppose… I will see you tomorrow…" He put his jacket on, looking at her longingly.

"One last thing, now that I think of it," she said as she fixed his scarf better.

"Yes?" he asked. Hope was the last to die, maybe he could drag it a bit longer.

She fondly touched the scarf she had given to him for his birthday. "Who told you the things you said that day to me? I never asked you."

"W-which words?" He was very confused now.

"You told me that once someone told you that it's not the gift that matters…"

"...but the person who gives it to you," he finished what she had started to say. She nodded and he continued, smiling softly. "That was my mother."

Marinette gave him a look that would have melted the ice on Mount Everest.

"I was five and had made by myself a little necklace for her, using pasta pieces." His cheeks turned pink at the memory. "It was for the English Mother's Day and I didn't have Nathalie to help me, so I messed it up and the necklace was way too small for going on her neck. I was devastated." Marinette was still smiling softly and his cheeks started getting very warm as he continued, "but she told me those words. And said that it was the best present of all, because it came from me." They fell in an awkward silence for a couple of minutes, Adrien rubbing his neck with his left hand and Marinette holding his other hand, blushing profusely.

"Tha… that's beautiful…" she whispered eventually.

Adrien smiled. "I only fully understood those words for the first time when I repeated them to you." He moved his scarf slightly from his neck, to look at it. "I already loved this scarf, but it's now my favourite item to wear. And…" He blushed. "I… sleep with it at night.." He glanced at her quickly and blushed deeper when he saw her amused grin. "It makes me feel closer to you…"

"Aw Kitty, come here, hug the real thing!" He happily obliged, and then he leaned down to put a soft kiss on her lips.

"Does this mean I can do the b-line I was talking about earlier?" He grinned his Cheshire grin.

She pushed him away, smirking at him. "Kitty. Seriously… you will never give up, will you?"

"Moi? Never! You know I'm a _very_ needy Kitty…"

He realised that she was trying to say something back, so he leaned down again, and shut her up with another long kiss.

* * *

**Author's Note**

**Hi! Yes, I hear you. It's over. I'm elated, but sad at the same time. I loved writing this story, and sharing it with you. Hope you enjoyed this epilogue!**

**I know, I know. I said it was short. Nearly 6000 words later… not so short. Sorry! *Rubs nervously the nape of her neck* Well… my friend genxha said it all. "The Lord of the Rings is longer," he said. *shrugs***

**And yes, the necklace made out of pasta pieces was a present my child made for me, which went wrong. I thought it would fit nicely in this story, since it didn't fit on my head ;)**

**Super thank you to all those who commented, sent kudos and bookmarked this story. Please don't stop sending your comments. I love reading your opinion and every comment brightens my day and makes me immediately happy. I'm planning more stories, worry not. In fact, I have a story I have been planning since before this one popped out, which will involve akuma!Felix, Oblivio 2, the temple in Tibet, new miraculouses and new holders… yes, a looong story. It's starting to whisper to me, so stay tuned. I may publish a couple of other bunnies beforehand though.**

**And please check my other story here on Ao3, Felix Noir. It's also complete :) and has plenty of love square angst and a fluffy reveal. Despite the title! Just check it out!**

**Massive thank yous to my wonderful betas, who have been crucial help for me in this story, and my friend genxha. You're all the best!**

**Until next story,**

**Bug out!**


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